


Scars of Wind

by ArcanisRune



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Made up lore, don't like please don't read, don't mean to make characters ooc sory, i should be working on my other fics but this one needs priority since I LEFT IT SITTING FOR YEARS, in which i reboot this fanfic from ages ago, potential accidental oocness, there's plot holes that i'll fill later, usual isekai nonsense but i love isekai so
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:54:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23182042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcanisRune/pseuds/ArcanisRune
Summary: [ Crossposted from FF.Net ]A reboot of Where the River Flows, featuring the same characters from the previous fanfic. A young girl is whisked from her world into Glenwood, and has to find her way home. The usual Isekai fic.
Kudos: 3





	1. Sparrowfeathers

**Author's Note:**

> SO I LEFT THIS FOR AGES AND NEVER BROUGHT IT BACK.
> 
> I've completely revamped the storyline, and I know there's a lot of plot holes but I intend to tie everything up as I can or, if I can't, explain the conclusion in the notes that'll tie it up. But yeah! This is a reboot, and it's going to be great... I hope. I'm taking liberties and adding my own lore again but with different twists, as well as adding in Berseria references and such as the two games are connected.
> 
> So uh, yeah.

It hurt, it hurt, it _hurt_. The searing pain in my back, in my head, in my arms... like I'd been slammed into something. It was that pain that brought me back to consciousness, but I was reluctant to open my eyes. Reluctant to wake up. No, let me sleep a bit more, _please_. I don't want to wake up-

"Hey."

A hand gently shook me, and I reluctantly opened my eyes. The pain vanished as soon as it had come, making me believe it had been an illusion. There was the scent of horses, and there were a few boxes around me but nothing to block my sight. I was in a caravan, it seemed. The person who had shook me gently was a red-haired girl with bright blue-purple eyes and a perpetual cat-like smile. She seemed relieved when I woke up, and I noted a hat out of the corner of my eye. With familiar-looking decorations, too. But the girl didn't take any notice of him when she sat back down.

"Oh good, you're awake. You gave us a scare, you know. Didn't you know passing out in front of a caravan was dangerous?" She chided softly, handing over an oval-looking orange candy. "You were crying out in pain, so this might help."

I couldn't find my voice to say thank you, so I took the candy and gave a small nod while mouthing "thank you" at her. She seemed a bit more cheerful after I ate it, and helped me sit up. The man with the hat, who the girl didn't even notice, scoffed and adjusted where he sat so the girl could sit back down comfortably. These two being together felt familiar, but I couldn't place exactly _why_. It bothered me slightly because of this. I knew I had a bum memory sometimes, but if they looked familiar then _why couldn't I remember them?_

"Is she awake now, Rose?" A male voice asked. The girl nodded. Rose- That was right! Rose and Dezel, they were here in the caravan. So this meant the timeline I was in right now was prior to Rose joining Sorey as his Squire. But it didn't tell me exactly _where_ in the timeline I was. So, at this point, I had nothing to do but speculate.

"Yeah. Think we can spare one of the stronger Gels to help boost her recovery? Those wolves really did a number on her before we got there."

Wolves? I didn't remember coming across any wolves. As I looked down, I noted how my chest was bandaged up and my pants were now shorts... and I had no shoes. But there were bandages on my legs and my arms as well. They'd patched me up? Were the Sparrowfeathers this charitable, or did I owe them in the future? As I tried figuring that out, I noted how there was another gel held out to me. A rainbow-like colour... so a Rainbow Gel? Did those even exist?

"Here."

"...Thank you." Ah, there was my voice. Taking it, I popped it in my mouth. It tasted like pomegranates, despite the rainbow colour. A familiar taste that reminded me of home. I wondered about that for a minute, if I would see home again. That was when the caravan was attacked. I heard the sound of wolves, and I felt my heart hammer against my chest.

"Not again!" The horses were going haywire, neighing loudly and rearing back. The man at the reigns hopped off the driver's seat after calming them and Rose gave me a 'stay there' motion before she hopped out of the back. So it was just me and Dezel in the caravan. He didn't seem like he wanted to go after her. Probably because it didn't need his attention. But he seemed to notice me staring at him and looked up at me. His bangs were covering his eyes, like always, and he seemed moodier than usual.

"Stop staring." He didn't seem surprised that I could see him. "It's annoying."

"Er, sorry." I shifted, and tried to distract myself with the pomegranate aftertaste from the gel. But I glanced back over at him, and he looked away. His arms were perpetually folded across his chest, it seemed. The caravan shook a little, and that seemed to get Dezel to actually acknowledge me properly.

"There's a rope on the other side of the boxes. Secure them so they don't fall." With a nod, I followed his command. Finding the rope wasn't difficult, but securing the boxes were. He gave me directions, though reluctantly, and I followed them to the best of my ability. This was the Sparrowfeathers' livelihood, so I had to protect it like this. One of the wolves tore at the caravan covering, but I heard a yelp and it pained me to hear that. I had to remind myself that wolves in this world were just hellions, and nothing more to stop myself from telling them to stop. But, as I did that, I began to think.

If the caravan was under attack, then... that meant I was set before Sorey met the Sparrowfeathers. And this meant that I had been picked up by them while unconscious so I wouldn't just be laying there. After what felt like hours, but was merely minutes, the man climbed back in the driver's seat and Rose climbed back in. I sat next to the roped-up boxes, and Rose raised a brow at me.

"How'd you figure that out?" She asked. "I don't remember telling you to do anything but stay here..."

"Well, there's a bunch of boxes, right?" She didn't know of Dezel, so I couldn't tell her anything about him. "And I saw the rope, and then I put two and two together! This is your stuff, yeah? It was the least I could do!" It was a lie. I would tell her the truth when she was able to perceive Dezel later on. She'd probably dislike me for that, but for now I couldn't tell her or else I'd risk her freaking out.

I hated knowing this about her. She didn't deserve to have someone who knew everything about her fears and why she could actually cook stalking about or... whatever. I swallowed lightly, and Dezel just softly scoffed before adjusting where he sat again. Rose sat back down, and then looked me over.

"Once we get the caravan repaired, I'll give you some gald to replace your clothes. The gels should've healed all your wounds by now but..." Rose opened a bag next to her, pulling out a tunic and a pair of pants. "We're about the same size, I think. You look a bit bigger in the chest area, though. Ah well. Put these on. They're just spares I keep in case I need to change clothes."

"...Alright." She handed me the clothes and helped me take the bandages off. To my surprise, the wounds were healed as she had said. I pulled on the tunic, and it felt a little tight around the chest. But it would do for now. The pants came next, and I would potentially have to walk barefoot- until Rose pulled out a _spare pair of boots_. Was that a bag of holding or something? It was easy to put them on, so I wouldn't have to deal with hot cobblestone on my poor feet. The colours really didn't suit me, or at least I didn't think they suited me, but that was what Rose had on her so I wouldn't complain.

Stopping at the bridge to Ladylake, where the guards would keep the wolves from attacking us again, I helped them unload the boxes and sat next to one. I didn't look like I was a part of the caravan itself, but because I was with the Sparrowfeathers, the guard doing a paperwork check basically just had a few questions that Rose answered- Except one.

"What's her name, then?" He asked as the final question.

"It's Melanie." I piped up from my spot.

"Alright, here's your passport. Don't lose it." He handed me a paper that Rose quickly took from me and put in her bag as I didn't have anywhere to store it currently. As the two of us waited for the caravan to be repaired, two sets of footsteps reached my ears and I turned around to see-

A boy with messy brown hair and green eyes with a darker blue shirt and a black shirt underneath, black pants and a sword on his hip accompanied by a boy with gradient blue hair, purple eyes and wearing a very ornate and complicated outfit.

Sorey and Mikleo.


	2. Destiny Awaits

We were blocking the way into Ladylake with the caravan, but it wasn't really a problem as Sorey had to answer the same questions as I did to get entrance into Ladylake. I kept quiet the entire time, knowing what was to come. Or hoping I did. The wolf attack had damaged the caravans, but we were never told when exactly it happened in the game, just that the Sparrowfeathers had to block the road to fix their caravans and it took a bit for Sorey to get in to Ladylake anyway.

"Hey-" I tapped Sorey on the shoulder, startling him a little.

"O-oh. Hi there." Sorey rubbed the back of his head. "Was there something you needed?"

"There might be a point you have to follow a dog. Don't let the dog out of your sight, they're important." I warned. Okay, that would cover that. It was cryptic and kind of jarring, but I couldn't let the poor thing _die_ because they couldn't keep up. I wouldn't be able to do anything. Lunarre would destroy me before I got a chance to attack. "That's all. Sorry about that."

"Follow a dog? What's she on about?" Mikleo asked.

"I dunno, Mikleo. Maybe there's a reason she'd tell me that." Sorey responded. I had turned away from them to walk back over to Rose when I'd heard them, so I looked over my shoulder.

"There is, you'll figure it out when it happens!" I said with a smile before continuing my walk over to Rose. The caravans were fixed, and we all loaded everything back into them before walking with them into the city. Rose stayed for a moment to talk to Sorey and Mikleo before she caught up with us. Entering the city wasn't hard, we just had to show the entrance papers and get them approved by the guards. The Sparrowfeathers were commonly coming here, so their papers were stamped almost immediately. Mine, however, went through a bit of scrutiny before getting stamped.

There was a house there in Ladylake that we stopped at, unloaded the cargo from the caravans, set up the horses and then moved the cargo into the house. It was a little dusty from no use, but that was cleaned up almost immediately. Rose rested her arm on my shoulder, and I glanced over at her. "I'll be taking our friend here out to get new clothes, so make sure things are finished before I get back!" She said with a smile before leading me out of the house. I noted Dezel out of the corner of my eye. Following along, it seemed, and I was worried he would take over Rose while we were out. I knew that was why he was sticking around her, she was a convenient vessel for him and her fear of ghosts stopped her from seeing him entirely.

We walked a while until we came across a shop with a hanging banner that had a tunic, a shield and crossed swords on it. A clothing and weapon shop? Rose opened the door, and I followed her inside.

"Hey, Maria!" The door closed once Dezel was inside, and Rose walked up to the shopkeeper to have a friendly chat with her. I glanced around at the store. Weapons everywhere, of different types. Swords, whips, daggers, a trident that looked like a fork, lances, gauntlets, greaves- You named it, they had it apparently. Noting something out of the corner of my eye, I walked over and picked it up. A faded gold bracelet, but purposefully made that way. Looking it over, noting the patterns on it, I realized what this was. How did it get here when humans couldn't see what the seraphim turned into their own weapons? Or was this a replica of his-?

"Oh, that old thing." Rose's voice startled me and I nearly dropped the bracelet. Looking to her, eyes wide and fearful, body hunching together as if trying to protect myself, I was on the verge of a panic attack. She'd spooked me, and she noted how I was acting before giving me a little space. It took me a moment to calm down but, when I did, I just kind of glanced over the bracelet again.

"How'd it get here?"

"I'unno. Someone brought it in a couple years back and no one's wanted it. I'm guessing you do? I was gonna get you a set of daggers so you could defend yourself."

"You still can, I'd... just like this too, if that's alright."

Rose grinned. "Sure! I think Maria would be glad to be rid of it. She doesn't like it much. Anyway, we should go upstairs if you're done gawking at it. The clothes are up there."

She and I went upstairs to the clothing and armour section, where there was a selection of different types of clothes there. We both looked around for something for me to change into instead of wearing a set of Rose's clothes. A blue coat with white fur around it, a black top with no sleeves or straps with blue-ish ruffling, a pair of short light red shorts and black boots. A pair of brown gloves were tossed at me by Rose, and I stared at them before shrugging. Something to pull it all together, I suppose. Heading back downstairs with Rose, Maria gave her the total and Rose just grinned before pulling out a sack of gald and setting it on the counter.

"We have a dressing room right over there if you want to change," Maria said as she counted out the gald Rose had given her before she ushered me off to the dressing room and had me change. As she did, Rose handed me a bag to put the other clothes in. We'd gotten me a new set of underwear too, so I changed those too as I changed clothes. The outfit seemed to suit me well, so I carefully left the room and carried the bag with me that held the clothes, folded up as neatly as I could get them.

"Thanks for the business, Rose. Always a pleasure to see you."

"No problem, Maria! Oh, yeah, we have your items you asked for. I'll have Rosh bring it over later."

"Alright! I'll talk to you later, then." With a wave, the two of us left the store and I felt weird. Attempting to hand over the bag to Rose, though...

"Think you should keep it. Never know when you'd need a change of clothes." Rose said with a grin. "Anyway, we should talk about how you're gonna pay me back."

"I-I don't have any gald, I-" Rose laughed and shook her head.

"You can just help us out in exchange. I'm not going to ask for money you don't have!" She patted my back. "We're gonna help set up the Festival, so you can help too."

I wondered if it would be weird to ask to join the Sparrowfeathers, so I could help out more and potentially be set on the path to help Sorey on his journey. Give him hints and not something as direct as I did before... like some sort of guide or something. That would probably be a bit too much, in all honesty. I'd already made things weird with the dog thing, but I just wanted to make sure the dog would live and not die like in playthroughs I've seen of Zestiria...

"Alright, that sounds fair."

We headed back to the house the Sparrowfeathers had stopped at, and Rose explained to the group that, after extensive talks, I'd be joining them in helping with the festival as one of the Sparrowfeathers. Eguille didn't seem to mind, and neither did any of the others. Which was odd, shouldn't they be protesting because I could potentially blow their cover as the Scattered Bones? Or was it so I didn't find out that they were- when I already knew?

"Then it's settled!" Rose turned to me and handed me the daggers, which were sheathed. I placed them under the cape of my outfit, where Rose usually put her own, finding they fit into my belt as if I was holstering them. The outfit would keep them hidden and I could get past the guards with them... Devious. But that was if they didn't make any sort of indent or note that they were there, which I looked behind myself to make sure they didn't. It seemed the cape covered them well, and there was no indication I had them at all. If I moved too fast, perhaps... but then again, perhaps not. I wouldn't know until it was pointed out to me, so no reason to worry about it.

"Here, take this to the Sanctuary." She handed me another bag, this time filled with items needed for the festival happening in the city. "We'll meet up with you soon."

With that, I was ushered out of the house and the door shut behind me. Huh. Despite this, I made my way towards the Sanctuary, where the festival would be taking place. I would have to take the back way to get in, as the Sparrowfeathers were seen coming out of the back... weren't they? It wasn't too hard to find, but the guard stopped me before I could go in.

"Festival Staff only beyond this point." His lance was in the way, and I looked over at him before raising up the bag.

"I'm a part of the Sparrowfeathers." A lie, and I'd have to deal with that later. "I was sent ahead to bring these to the Festival, so... can I pass?"

He held out his hand, before I realized something. Handing him the bag, he just handed it back. His guard friend wasn't even looking, so it seemed this was common. Getting inside? He wanted a bribe to let me pass. Checking my pockets, then the bag itself, I noted Rose had stuffed a bag of gald into it. Convenient, wasn't it? Handing the gald over, I was admitted entry almost immediately. The back was full of people preparing for the festival, and I was instructed on where to put the stuff for the Festival by one of the people helping set up. I caught a glimpse of Alisha and Maltran as I went about my business and a part of me wanted to ask Maltran if she was working for Heldalf, but I swallowed the question and headed back out once I was done. It was around then that I met back up with Rose outside of the temple, and Sorey was talking to her about something. I didn't see Dezel anywhere, so he must not have been around.

"Hey, it's you-" Sorey looked to me and I gave a sheepish wave.

"Hello again." I said, nervous.

"What you told us when we first met was really weird, but it came out to be true!" His attention was fully on me now. "What else do you know? Anything about ancient ruins? Will I come across any?"

His face was full of childish adoration, and I sheepishly rubbed the back of my neck. Well, it wouldn't be a lie... "Yeah, you come across a lot." But how? I wouldn't tell him. "But that's all I'd know, honestly."

"I bet you're just hyping him up!" Rose teased with a grin. "Come on, Melanie, it's not nice to hype someone up!"

"R-Rose! I'm just-" I shut up automatically and looked away, feeling my cheeks burn. Of course, I'd feel like I can't defend myself. It always happened, and I felt defeated. An arm crossed my shoulders and a finger poked my cheek, which made me jolt a little.

"It's alright. I'm just messing with you. Sorry about that, didn't think you'd get upset." It was a genuine apology, and I looked over at Rose who was smiling softly at me. She pat my back before walking back to one of the twin Sparrowfeathers- I think it was Talfryn. Regardless, she got Sorey into the temple to go warn Alisha of Lunarre before the three of us walked back to the house.

"We'll be heading out a few days after the Festival is over. It'll be pretty busy, like usual. You up for that?"

I gave a small nod. "Yeah. I'll help as much as I can."

* * *

_Can you hear me?_

It was dark when I opened my eyes. The voice had woken me suddenly, but I still felt like I was dreaming. A strange glowing light was in the corner of the room. Sitting up, I noticed a little boy in the corner holding a strange device. His eyes glanced over me, before a somber look came over his face.

_Sorry for waking you, but this is important._ His voice rang loud and clear in my mind.

"What is?" I whispered, careful not to raise my voice.

_There's a lot to start with..._ He set the device down, and I noticed it was a compass. It was oddly designed, but it looked neat. _But I don't have a lot of time. There's a few precious moments before I fall back into Malevolence, so please listen carefully okay?_

"I will."

He looked hopeful. _I want you to help me. I'll guide you when I can pull myself back out, but please don't expect it all the time. There's... some things out of line here, that happened out of line since before you were called here-_

"Wait, I was called here?"

The boy looked away a bit, out the window. We couldn't see much out of it, but we could see a bit of the sky. It was moments before he responded.

_Yes. I called you here. It was a desperate attempt to right something that should've been fixed long ago, but it's still bleeding out into the world today. And I need you to cooperate with the Shepherd. He's with my former apprentice as we speak, and he'll be the one to show you the way. Follow him, alright?_

That was a lot to take in for me. "...I'm in debt to the Sparrowfeathers. A-and, if I remember right, their paths cross with Sorey's a lot-"

_Rayfalke Spiritcrest._ The boy said, picking up the compass. _Go there._

"...What's at the Spiritcrest?"

_My old friend, Eizen. And his little sister too._ The lights started to float upwards more and more, like he was dissipating. Which was probably true, his time was probably up by now. _You can help the Shepherd. The world is different from the one you remember, and here there is something known as- Oh, it looks like my time is up. I'll tell you more when I'm capable._

"Wait a secon-" But he was gone before I could finish my sentence or ask him what he was going to say... or who he was. How did he know Eizen and Edna? It was mind-boggling. With a small frown, I got out of bed and dressed before making the bed and quietly trying to sneak out. If I was supposed to go to the Spiritcrest, then I better get a head start. Sorey would be out for three days, and that's about the amount of travel time distance-wise when you're not in a game to get to the Spiritcrest.

"Leaving already?" Dezel's voice came out of nowhere and I jumped before looking over my shoulder.

"I know I'm in debt to the Sparrowfeathers and I _promise_ I'll pay it off, just let me do this real quick and I'll meet you all in Marlind!" I said, trying to keep my voice from going higher than a whisper. I couldn't tell Dezel's facial expression, but his mouth twitched a little before he tossed me something and walked off. A way of sending me off, I supposed.

Catching what he had tossed me, I peeked inside and noticed it was a bag filled with gels and bottles of all sorts. I felt bad, I really did, and I hoped I could repay the Sparrowfeathers for their kindness at some point. Thinking, I put the bag down before-

"I can't write in Glenwood script. Help me write a note."

"And why should I?" Dezel stopped but didn't look behind him. Windreading at its finest, not that it mattered much in the grand scheme of things.

"So I can let them know I'm not skipping out on my debt! Especially with Rose, I don't want her thinking that either!"

He gave a sort of non-committal noise before grabbing a quill and a piece of parchment paper to help me write the note. Well, he wrote it but I helped with the wording and left it in an easy-to-find place before thanking him and leaving Ladylake in the middle of the night. It wasn't the best decision, but the compass had been pointing to the southeast, and that was the direction of the giant mountain in the distance.

Following the compass. It sounded cliché as all hell, but I didn't mind.

No, this was the start of my adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, to find updates to this it's best to follow my [tumblr](https://arcanisluna.tumblr.com) for updates!


	3. B is for Bandits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Melanie's adventure is one crazy ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor OOC-ness and such. This was worked on for a while, but I finally got it finished.

"I wonder if they found the note."

The grass was trampled under my feet as I walked through the plains, obviously not following the road. There had been a few Hellions around, which I avoided fighting as I had no idea on how to fight and I didn't want to kill them. And I still had to get to the Spiritcrest, right? That was what the boy had said. Continuing forward on this adventure was difficult. I wasn't used to walking all the time and constantly had to sit down after a while to take a breather and stop my legs from aching before I continued forward. It was a process, and I had been a homebody until now so I was very... unused to so much activity. I didn't even have an exact time! But that wasn't the problem.

I'd meet travellers on the road, point them in the direction of Ladylake if they were headed there and then hear in an inn out of the way that the travellers never made it there. Bandits were attacking them, and it left a sour taste in my mouth. I wondered exactly what type of bandits were attacking them. Perhaps they were desperate for food or gald. And I wondered why I wasn't being attacked too. Saying my goodbyes to the innkeeper I had come across, I left the inn that I'd been staying in last night and headed back on the road. Having to work in exchange for room and board for a night had been a bit of a task but... At least they were nice.

That had been... two days. So if I was looking back at Ladylake, I wouldn't see it anymore. Marlind wasn't too far from here, but it would be in the throes of a plague caused by malevolence. I'd rushed on ahead without any form of idea of where to go except for the Spiritcrest. From what I could recall, Eizen was on that mountain... but as a dragon. There was something else, too. Something I knew I was forgetting. I didn't know exactly what it was, but I just _knew_ something important was slipping my mind. Regardless, the bridge was still up. That meant that it was too early for it to collapse. But the rain was endless. I was soaked upon my arrival to the area, and shielded my eyes against it as I looked towards the sky. Different, I supposed, but I couldn't do much of anything.

Spiritcrest, Spiritcrest. What awaited me at you? Nothing but death at the moment. Nothing but death- but I couldn't divert from my path just yet. There was a little pathway before I was able to reach the bridge, so I turned up that path and headed up the sloping hill. As I did so, I noticed something falling from the sky. As if thrown, and it turned out not to be some _thing_ but some _one_. Their body hit the ground and they came to a stop at my feet. Long, white hair with green ends covered their back, and they wore black pants with turquoise designs. The oddest part yet was the belts on their wrists and the solitary glove on their left hand. With a frown, I shook the person who had fallen.

Stupid me. A fall from that height meant they were dead, right?

"What am I doing...?" I murmured to myself. "They're dead. That fall was from a very high height and..." I sighed, deciding to push the body over to get a better look. A male, and a young one. And then it hit me, and I smacked my forehead with a groan. This was _before_ Sorey scaled the Spiritcrest and met Zaveid for the first time, so obviously something had happened prior to their meeting! It just so happened that _this_ was what happened instead. Something important. _He_ was the something important I was forgetting about! Zaveid the Hellion Hunter!

"Gods above and below, what the hell..." I sat back, staring at the sky for a few moments. I didn't have much in the ways of items but... I hadn't used any of them since starting my adventure. I had to shuffle through various items in my bag before grabbing a blue bottle with a label on it. I couldn't exactly decipher what it said, and quietly wished I had an interpreter for Glenwood Script with me. But I uncorked it and heaved a heavy sigh before moving back over to the unconscious Zaveid and pressing the bottle to his lips. The clear liquid slowly left the bottle, and in moments his eyes fluttered open. I removed the now empty-bottle, re-corked it and put it in my bag while muttering to myself about how idiotic this seemed as I noticed him sitting up slowly.

"Try not to take a giant fall like that again, I don't have a lot of these and I'm not around enough to play babysitter." I said, standing up and dusting myself off. I didn't know how many Dezel had given me but... I probably didn't have much in the way of Life Bottles, if that's what I used. Those seemed really expensive and rare.

"You're not here for the dragon are ya, kid?" Zaveid's voice broke through my voice and I glanced at him. He'd stood up during the time I was examining the contents of my bag while deep in thought, and towered over me in height. With a short, non-committal shrug, I waved a hand.

"Does it look like I can fight a dragon? I was just told to come here, and then I met you when you landed on the ground like you did. Thought you were dead until I realized nope, very much alive." I closed my bag and turned to him. "Well, no. It's more like a little kid told me to come here because a couple of people lived here. Eizen and Edna. Heard of them?"

His body tensed. I noticed his gaze wasn't even on me now, instead away as if I'd said something unintentional. But this was what I was sent here for. Something at the Spiritcrest, and I would have to find out exactly what the kid had wanted me to do. But... if anything, the hellion that was usually here was guarding the place and I couldn't have Zaveid kill it too soon. That would set everything awry.

The path of Tales of Zestiria was never very straight-forward, but this was something that had Sorey first meeting Zaveid. The fight with the hellion blocking the way.

It was an uncomfortable silence, regardless. For a few minutes, there was nothing. The wind seemed a little colder, even. Then-

"They're up on the mountaintop. Why?" His tone was sharp and bitter.

"Again, little kid sent me up here. 'Bout this tall, wearing a robe.. And had a strange device in his hands. He said that Eizen was an old friend of his-" Like that, I was cut off with Siegfried in my face.

"Not another word." Very out of character for him, but perhaps I'd hit a sore spot for him. That was alright, he didn't have to answer me. "Listen, kid. I don't know who you are, or where you're from but don't bother with either of those people. And don't talk about them around me. Got it?"

"...Y-yes sir." I found myself saying, shrinking away. Old habits died hard, and I was trying to make myself smaller. Tears prickled at the edges of my eyes, and I heard footsteps as the ringing in my ears grew louder and louder. A constant noise. A constant reminder. I was never free from the past, I was never free from what chained me.

I looked up, and he was gone.

* * *

"Deliver medicine across to Marlind?" I asked, with a slight frown. The rain hadn't washed away the bridge yet, but the guy had just thrust the package at me and told me to deliver it to Marlind. The epidemic town, where a plague ran free... that was caused by malevolence.

"Of course! Are you stupid and hardheaded?! Get going!" He shoved me away from him, and I stepped back, finding myself breathing heavier than usual. Rude. Rude and... cruel. I took in a deep breath and turned to the bridge. This wasn't going to be too hard. Get it to Marlind and then come back before the bridge went out of service. That was easy enough for me to do. Delivery sidequest and all, and then no reward. It was fine, really. It was alright. It was...

"Wh-what-"

Halfway across the bridge, I heard footsteps behind me. A knight, lance beared. The bridge underneath my feet started to crack. He'd seen something I hadn't, and had charged in to protect me. But, it was too late for that. As soon as he reached me, the bridge broke and the two of us got thrown into the river. The current was fast, and I couldn't keep my head above the water long enough to take a breath of air. I was drowning, I was actually _drowning_.

They say death by drowning is the worst, and I had to agree with that. I choked, and filled my lungs with more water. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't _breathe_. Everything was going so, so wrong. The light dimmed around me, and I heard a splash and a hand reach out to grab me before the entire world went dark. And, for a while, I dreamed.

I dreamed of home. Of my life before this. Dreamed of sleeping, dreamed of cooking... Dreamed of going outside and taking walks when I couldn't bear seeing the same four walls any more. But, as I headed to the kitchen for something to eat, I jolted awake with a gasp for air before turning over and coughing. My lungs were clear but burning for air, and I was gasping for a good few minutes before my breathing straightened itself out and I found myself in a bed. A warm, comfortable bed. The oil lamp was still burning, which meant that it still had enough to keep the flame up. In the bed next to mine was the knight, though his dark hair was splayed all over the pillow. I could tell from the tunic and helmet in the chair next to the bed, and the lance. He'd been the one coming to my rescue... I swallowed hard and was about to get out of bed when the door opened and a few people filed in. Immediately, I was on guard and went for the daggers Rose had given me- only to realize they weren't there. They were with my bag along with my bracelet and jacket on the chair near my bed.

"You're the only one awake." One of them said with a smug grin. "Guess you'll be givin' us a payment for rescuin' ya. C'mere, girl." He started forward, but I went for my daggers and grabbed them as I tumbled out of the bed. The blanket had, mercifully, not been tangled up with my legs. Rose hadn't taught me how to use them, so I was running blind here. I didn't ask for them to save me-!

"Didn't I tell ya not to bother our guests?" A rough female voice asked. "Move it or I'll kick yer asses!"

"We only answer to the boss, not his side girl!" One of the men said.

"Oh? An' I guess the boss will be happy t'hear that you were tryin' to assault our guests fer rescuin' them. Don't forget it was the _boss_ who saved 'em. We may be bandits, but we ain't gonna assault an' harrass the people we save. The boss will be _pissed._ Now get the fuck outta here." A female with her blonde hair in a pixie cut walked in. She was wearing a cloth around her breasts, and a pair of pants but not much else. Her body was scarred, but muscular, and she didn't seem too fussed about shooing the rest of the bandits out. With a sigh, she shut the door but I still remained on guard. When she saw this, she raised her hand up as if in surrender. "Ain't gonna hurt ya. Put those away an' I'll tell ya where both ya and the knight boy there ended up."

"...Mm..." The boy in the bed groaned and woke up. "Wh—what happened...?" He sat up, and both the bandit and the boy looked at each other. She sighed, and gestured for me to put the daggers away. I reluctantly did so, frowning as we both were ushered out of the room and to another, much grander room. It was a nice house, I'd give them that, but it felt... out of place. Like we were being sent towards our doom. At the table was a man, about mid-thirties, sitting in the chair with a goblet in his hand. A silver one, not gold like I'd expected.

If I recalled correct, malevolence showed itself as little purplish-black specks, but there was none here that I could see. Or I was blind towards it, either or. He glanced at us, grey eyes narrowing just a bit before he sat straight in the chair and set his goblet down.

"So, the princess and her knight awaken. I thought that Princess Alisha carried a spear. It seems that I was wrong." He said. He'd... mistaken me for Alisha? How? I tugged at my hair slightly, seeing the black colour as it always was. That was when he burst out laughing and I froze before looking at him. Laughing now? Why? His red hair, long and messy, moved back as he laughed heartily. As if this was the funniest thing in the world. "I'm kiddin', lady. I know Alisha's a platinum blonde and can defend herself. I ain't as stupid as I look. So, can I have the names of the kids that I saved?"

Wait... He was the one who saved us? Bandits... actually stuck their necks out for people in danger? I had to rethink about what I'd heard about them, then. With a slight nod, I obliged.

"Melanie."

"..." The boy seemed a bit awkward. "Why should I tell a bandit?"

"Because he saved yer worthless hide, you Hyland freak!" The girl with the pixie cut exclaimed. The man shook his head and the girl nearly avoided getting hit with his dagger that he'd thrown at her out of nowhere.

"Enough, Ryda. We are not like the Evergreen Bandits. You would do well to remember that." His voice carried authority, and Ryda backed away while muttering under her breath. This was a weird dynamic, and perhaps normal for them... but back home, he would've gotten arrested for attempted murder. Not here, though. Not here. "Now, knight, please tell me your name. I want to know who I've saved."

"Fine." He muttered. "It's Aevar Wraith."

The man seemed a bit thoughtful at that. "Wraith, huh? Know a Maribelle Wraith?" He asked, curiosity in his voice.

"...That's my mother." Aevar said with a frown. "How do you-"

"Maribelle's my sister. Haven't heard from her in _years_ , an' now her son's a Hyland Knight. Guess she really did flee from him.." The man looked thoughtful for a moment longer. "Name's Arvald Chester. Leader of the Hyland Bandits, and yer uncle. You an' Melanie were lucky I was out huntin' when I was, else you two might've never seen the light of day again. Speakin' of-" Arvald got up out of his chair and gestured to the window. The sun was, slowly but surely, rising. It cast a light on the man, who I could see wore the pelt of an animal, perhaps a bear, around his waist with trousers and a white long-sleeved shirt. There was a belt around the pelt with multiple sheaths for multiple daggers. But he was strong, extremely strong, as shown with how the tension around his sleeves were near to bursting with how big his muscles were. He was a bear of a man, and had a matching red beard to his hair. How had I not noticed this before, and only noticed his eyes?

Aevar stood quiet, his head turned away. As if he didn't believe this. I couldn't blame him. His uncle was a bandit, but he had morals... though his lackeys didn't seem to have _any_ of those morals he did. With a shaky breath, the knight spoke.

"Why did you save us?"

"Because you two would've drowned. Ain't like us to just leave travellers for dead." Arvald shrugged and sat back down, putting his feet on the table after picking up his goblet. "We tend to only strike merchants that've been price gougin' as they think the higher prices will give them more money to line their pockets with. Only a few merchants, like the Sparrowfeathers, are exempt. Some travellers think the same, so we have to teach 'em a lesson. But that's it. We ain't murderers or anythin' of the sort."

"Good-willed bandits. I've literally met good-willed bandits." I said without thinking. Voicing my thoughts aloud, as it were. Arvald laughed at that.

"So, where're you two headed?" He asked, taking a long swig from the goblet.

"I need to get back to Ladylake and report." Aevar responded.

"...I'm going to Marlind to drop off some medicine."

Arvald sat upright at that, goblet hitting the table. "Why the hell are ya goin' to a plague town, kid? Even if it's medicine, if you catch it-"

"I have a strong immune system, I'll be alright." I said in response, looking away.

"Hmph. Well, ya ain't goin' alone. Ryda, yer in charge 'til I come back. Aevar, are ya just gonna let her go alone? Ain't very knightly of ya."

"I wasn't going to-" Aevar was cut off as Arvald laughed and stood up, walking over to us.

"Get yer things together, you two. We're goin' to Marlind."

* * *

During the course of the two days that it took to get to Marlind from the bandit hideout, Arvald had taken me under his wing and taught me how to use the daggers I had. I could see the hellions, and apparently so could Arvald and Aevar. We wore them down and then fled as to not bloody our hands. People with resonance enough to see Seraphim and Hellions were far and few inbetween, and so running across two in one go was extremely rare. But there were things that could happen like that, and I counted my lucky stars that I didn't have to go about this alone. Aevar and Arvald took shifts, saying that I should sleep at night and keep up my strength for the morrow. They were used to this kind of thing and me, being a newbie traveller, wasn't. But that was fine with me. At least I'd be able to help while we were walking to Marlind.

When we came across the town, it was bad. There was purplish-black particles everywhere and there was a haze hanging over the city that seemed suffocating. But I had to deliver the medicine, I just _had_ to do that job. The sanctuary wasn't too far, but I noticed something near the tree as the three of us headed in that direction. Four figures with one sitting down at the base of the Great Tree. Instead of continuing on towards the sanctuary, I diverted and headed for them. As they came into view, I noticed that Sorey was there... And Mikleo. Alisha and Lailah, too, but I hadn't actually _met_ them properly. So that would mean that Edna had left-

Which meant, by the fact of Sorey being here before me, I'd missed them meeting Atakk in the museum and their encounter with the woman who was trying to sell books to get gald for something nice in her life for once. I'd missed a good chunk of the Marlind excursion, and that was something.

"Lady Alisha!" Aevar exclaimed, running ahead to her. He'd been outfitted with travelling clothes instead of his usual knight outfit, but he wore the gauntlets and the greaves for fighting instead of the spear he was carrying around. So she didn't recognize him at first before her face broke out in a smile as she heard his voice.

"Sir Aevar! -And who are they?" Alisha asked, gesturing at me and Arvald.

"Hey! It's you again!" Sorey got back up on his feet and walked over. "Haven't seen you since Ladylake! Didn't think we'd meet up here..." He rubbed the back of his head. Sorey was really a kind person to have remembered me from then, even though he'd been through so much already.

"Yeah. Looks like our paths keep crossing regardless of circumstances." I looked over the others. Aevar and Alisha were in conversation while Arvald examined Mikleo, who was a bit put out by the action. Lailah stood there, hands clasped in front of her, with a small smile on her face as if this was perfectly normal. Then again, it probably was. "That reminds me, I've forgotten to introduce myself after this time. I'm-"

"Melanie, right? The girl who helped us get into the Sanctuary said your name." Sorey responded.

"Yep. That's me." I gave a small smile to him. "So, uh, not to cut this short but-"

"Please, cut it short." A deadpan female voice said. "I don't think I can take this sappiness much longer."

Everyone looked at the girl who had come up with her parasol closed and pointed towards the ground. With her was Atakk, the normin from the museum. Edna, the Earth Seraph who was now Lailah's sublord. So they'd met Zaveid... Her outfit wasn't the same I was used to in the game, however. Instead of the usual dress, she wore a short black jacket, what I assumed was a white tunic with an orange undershirt and black shorts. Her glove and boots remained the same, but her hair wasn't in its usual ponytail. Then again, her outfit was more practical than Lailah's in many regards. She was an up-close fighter unlike the Fire Seraph...

And it was probably a choice for travelling, too. After all, the Seraphim would probably want to walk along with Sorey as well..

"Welcome back, Edna- Oh, and Atakk too!" Sorey seemed pleased to see the normin. As I expected, the conversation about Atakk helping with the arrow shot against the Drake to bring it down happened as Arvald tapped my shoulder.

"I'll take the medicine to the sanctuary." He said, holding his hand out. "You an' Aevar help 'em out while I'm gone, alright?"

"Alright." I agreed, handing over the medicine that was still in its bag. Once the conversation was done, they headed to Neif's house which was the best place for this attack to start. Standing with Alisha, Lailah and Edna, we watched as Sorey armatized with Mikleo and readied an arrow. Atakk, at Lailah's command, helped amplify the power and the arrow flew from the bow to the Drake, hitting it and causing to fall into the clearing nearby. I pulled out my daggers, and Aevar readied himself for a fight. We charged in, ready for combat as no one would see us fighting what was essentially air to others. Our participation in the battle wasn't contested, either. It was like they'd accepted we were helping regardless of our ability to purify malevolence.

"Sorey!" Mikleo called out from the Armatization. The drake swiped at him, and he dodged around. I attacked from a flank, stabbing it with my daggers before pulling back. Lailah cast a fire spell, it exploding all around the drake. Edna, too, cast a spell that sent it staggering down as she did so. It swiped its tail at Aevar and I, and we dodged and rolled out of the way. Alisha wasn't lucky enough, however, and got hit in the side. It sent her flying and rolling to a stop. Lailah ran over to her to heal her wounds, leaving us to continue the fight.

Sorey dodged another attack, the armatization coming undone so they could fight together without it. Though a choice I had made myself once upon a time while playing the game, it wasn't one I would encourage as it boosted their power. As soon as I took my eyes off of the drake, my fate was sealed and its tail hit me, sending me flying. I hit the ground, feeling the pain as I smacked into the dirt, and groaned as I opened my bag and grabbed a gel to pop into my mouth. I was fine, this wasn't going to take me down. The pain was irrelevant to the task.

But damn it, it hurt like hell.

I charged back in, stabbing and weaving as Sorey sliced and Mikleo cast spells. Edna reluctantly teamed up with Aevar and the two of them combined magic and his punches to cause a bit more damage. The drake was about to attack again when three daggers came flying at it as well as an explosion and Alisha returning to the fray. Arvald had joined us in the battle, his delivery done. I didn't know how much time had passed, but his presence was welcome. After that, it was easy to overpower the drake and confuse it, giving Sorey enough time to purify the malevolence and shift its form back to its original one.

The drake shrank, the flames of purification burning away the malevolence it had. In its place was a seraph with striking blonde hair and very intricate robes. The Guardian Seraph of this place, whose name was Rohan.


	4. Of Oracles and Squires

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to current world events, I've skipped over the rest of the Marlind part. Once this all settles, I'll post up that chapter instead of this one. I have it written out already, I just don't think that it would be right to continue that part until after all this settles. It may be a year or so, or it may be sooner. We don't know, but I don't want to remind people of it.
> 
> Apologies. I know I started on it last chapter. I just wasn't thinking.
> 
> If you want to keep up on this story, [my tumblr is over here](https://arcanisluna.tumblr.com). I post the chapters there before I post them here (In this case, though, this chapter was here before I posted it there!).

Alisha... had been detained. And Sorey was being forced to go along with Hyland's whims to ensure her safety. The man who had gave us the message had also said that she'd put up a _fight_ while being detained for being a potential traitor to her own _country_. So that had left us no choice but to go along. Arvald had cited that he needed to get back to his people, and disappeared on us before we'd gotten that order. Which meant that Aevar and I had to go along with Sorey. We were assumed to be a part of the Sheperd's group, and therefore the order had gone to us as well. It was stupid in all regards. Neither Aevar nor I could be of any use in _war_. We weren't Squires, we couldn't do anything. Dead weight, that was just what we were.

But still, we continued forward with Sorey. Aevar looked despondent, and I was resigned. As we followed along, we listened in on what the commander of Hyland's troops had to say. That Sorey was to follow his orders and do as he said, but Sorey was defiant and did his own thing...

Like rescuing Lucas and the mercenaries. The Hyland troops abandoned them, so we had jumped in to save them. It was the first time I'd actually killed anything, too. Aevar was used to it, his lance stabbing through the people and cutting through. But I wasn't. Fighting the Rolance soldiers, I was barely able to keep on my own two feet. My daggers were flailing everywhere, trying to block the attacks so I didn't get hurt. I hated being hurt, and being hurt in this case meant my death because I would be incapacitated, and that wasn't a good thing. Blocking attacks was all I could do, until I heard the sound of my clothes tearing and then the sharp pain in my side.

I had no choice.

With the shriek of pain, I aimed for what I thought was his arm. To disarm him and spare his life, you know? But my eyes were blurry with tears of pain, and I stabbed him in the neck instead. When he went down, I did too while clutching my side. My blood quickly cooled as it hit the air, and I heard the sound of Lailah's heels as she moved to my side. The warmth of healing magic, concentrated on my wound, sealed up the injury I had sustained and stopped the bleeding. But my clothes would need multiple washings and- I'd deal with that later.

What was the worst part, was when I realized what I had done. I had gone to retrieve my dagger when I noticed the puddle of blood under the body... and my dagger still in his neck. My eyes widened, and I hit the ground again. No, _no..._ It wasn't supposed to be like this! Had I aimed wrong?! They had a family to go home to, and I just...

No, no. This was war... I had to remember that. This was currently a war and if I hadn't killed him, he would've killed me. But that didn't stop the tears from falling as I whispered apologies to the person I'd killed. Sorey and Aevar didn't seem distraught, but then again they were good at putting on brave faces... Sorey especially.

"We should rejoin them." Lailah said, once the path was clear. I gave a small nod and stood up, sheathing my dagger. This was going to be hovering over my head for a while. A life, I'd taken an actual _life_. It was in self-defense, sure... but it was a weight that I'd have to carry for the rest of my life. I wouldn't be the same person as I was before... would I? I'd always heard that killing changes people, and perhaps that was true... but I didn't want to have that kind of change. I didn't want to-

A pressure that I'd never felt before interrupted my thought process and I felt like everything was being squeezed harshly. It let up after a few moments, but that was enough to tell me that the malevolence had strengthened. By the look on everyone's faces, it wasn't good. Up on a hill was a very dense ball of malevolence, and I could hear Sorey and the others talking about it being the Lord of Calamity. It was funny, thinking back, that this whole thing started 1,000 years ago in Glenwood's history about a Shepherd and a Lord of Calamity.

Instead of continuing forward, we retreated... but we didn't get too far until Landon attacked us, citing that the chancellors would think again about Sorey being useful if his severed head was brought to them. His form meant that he had become a hellion due to this malevolence. And there was nothing either Aevar or I could do except fight and help wear him down. But the malevolence didn't disappear, and Lailah explained that the domain was stronger than her power of purification. That was... problematic for them. We, again, were just along for the ride. It wasn't going to be too long before Sorey was about to get Rose as a Squire, so...

"Please! Help me!" A voice cried out.

"Someone's in trouble?!" Sorey looked for the source of the voice. A young woman was fighting back hellions with a... wait, was that a hammer? When we reached her, the hellions were closing in. Sorey armatized with Lailah, defeating them within a swing of his sword. It was a bit too easy, and that thought turned out to be correct as the hellions rose up again. The woman held her hammer tight, before taking a few more swings.

"Why are you here?!" Lailah asked as Sorey armatized with Edna. "Water seraphim are more suspectible to being corrupted by malevolence, Izayoi!"

The seraph, Izayoi, shook her head. "I followed my dreams, Lailah. They told me the Oracle was here! Even if I turn into a Hellion, I must see this through!"

Lailah gasped. "But that's just a fairytale!"

Izayoi smacked her hammer against one of the hellions, and bubbles appeared. They seemed to glow with the same light that Lailah's flames of purification did, but it was no use. "No, the Oracle is real. They help the Shepherd. But I suppose your oath prevents you from speaking about it." The water seraph tucked her hair behind her ear. It was silver, with light blue at the ends and reached her waist while tied back in a low ponytail at the nape of her neck. There were some pieces of her hair that fell free, framing her face. Izayoi's outfit consisted of a white off-shoulder shirt, a black corset and a pale blue skirt that reached only the middle of her middle finger. Black leggings and silver boots brought together the ensemble, and on her hands were rings of silver and blue. Her eyes were a silver colour as well. A beautiful woman made for combat, it seemed.

"Izayoi!" The malevolence seemed to be converging on the water seraph, who was trying to hold it back with the bubbles. Lailah was concerned, and tried burning the malevolence away. It didn't work. "Izayoi, you need a vessel! You're going to become a hellion!"

"I know, Lailah. But the Oracle... They're here, and I'm going to help them. That's why I made my purification oath, so I could also help." Izayoi held out her hand. It wasn't hard for me to imagine who she might've been waiting for. With a sharp intake of breath, I took her hand. She looked at me, and then her face softened into a smile.

It was almost instant, our pact. Unlike Lailah's, there was no fancy words. No "I'll become the Oracle!", a mirror of what Sorey would have done. It was a silent agreement, something we both decided on within a moment. But when she entered me, I felt a weight and a pain in my chest. Like something was wrong, an imbalance in my body. I took in another breath, and exhaled slowly. She hopped out of my body in a flash of light, hammer held in one hand.

"Our pact is complete." Izayoi said. "Now I can assist you, Lailah."

"...Izayoi.." Lailah's eyes glistened with tears, and she hugged the water seraph. Izayoi gently pat Lailah's head, and looked to the hill where the malevolence was. She'd held out this long, it seemed almost natural that she was going to head there. Before she did, she turned to me and held out a crossbow once Lailah let go of her.

"Here. This will be the focus of our armatization." Izayoi said. I took it and put it in my bag with a small nod. With that, we headed towards the hill that the Lord of Calamity stood upon. It took longer than we expected, with the soldiers under the grips of malevolence. Neither Izayoi or Lailah's purificatio worked, and it seemed extremely bleak. Especially with the weight remaining in my chest. I coughed, punching my chest a couple times and it seemed to dislodge the weight to where it didn't even feel like it was there anymore... which was good, I didn't want that dragging me down in this critical moment.

When we reached the summit, Sorey stepped forward.

"You must be..." He trailed off, uncertain.

"So, another shepherd is born at last... but what's this? You've brought your Oracle with you." It was mocking, that last line, as if he'd thought that Sorey would come alone with his own strength. Sorey was shaking, and the Lord of Calamity caught on to that. He looked smug.

"Frightened, are you? Ah, but the sound of death is so sweet..." He looked away from us, to the battlefield once more. The pressure of malevolence made my ears start ringing loudly, and I clapped my hands over my ears to make it stop. It wasn't something I usually did, but then the rest of the scene played out as I couldn't hear them speaking. Sorey armatized with Lailah, and attacked the Lord of Calamity. The sword was caught in his hand, and I vaguely remembered what would happen next. The Lord of Calamity sent Sorey backwards by merely overpowering him, and Lailah fell to the ground. I watched as he advanced, and spoke to Sorey. This was it, the malevolence was really starting to get to me. Like a foreign agent entering my body, but I resisted the faint feeling for as long as I could. Izayoi was at my side, washing the malevolence away as best as she could to keep me on my feet. I figured she knew that I was weak due to the pact we formed, and that I'd be passing out any moment now... But I had to keep strong. I made my own advancement, hands over my ringing ears, until the pressure made both Sorey and I fall to our knees. Aevar was nowhere to be found, and I was glad for that. He didn't need to see this, the Shepherd and I both unable to handle the pressure from the Lord of Calamity expanding his domain even more.

But then, he vanished, leaving behind nothing but a message of his name, and a wonder of how much longer the two of us would live. The ringing stopped once Heldalf, the Lord of Calamity, was gone and both Sorey and I stood up. This was going to be a desperate problem. The war would continue, and what could we do about it...? That was when I noticed Sorey looking around... and realized that I couldn't see any of the Seraphim. Then it hit me. That was right, Heldalf temporarily made our resonance absolutely nothing because of his actions! But Sorey seemed really distraught. It was when the armies arrived, all turned into malevolent beings, that it really hit us that we were powerless at this point. Sorey called out for Lailah using her true name and trying to armatize... but nothing worked. I had to dodge every attack, as I didn't want to kill any of these people. Nothing was going to work...

And then, one of them hit my stomach. It knocked the air out of me, and I found myself falling off the cliffside. The last thing I remembered, before I lost consciousness, was Sorey and someone else falling too.

* * *

The stars were in the sky when I woke up, sitting up and staring at nothing in particular. I had thought I'd died, but I hadn't seen anything... just the usual nothingness that usually accompanied my sleep. Glancing about, I noticed Sorey on my right. He was awake too, and looking at Rose. That was right, Rose tried saving him but got hit instead... It was a miracle she was okay. Perhaps that was Lailah's doing... The seraphim probably saved all of us. That was a relief.

"Melanie! You're alright!" Sorey said, as he picked up Rose onto his back. I nodded and got up, dusting my clothes off. I owed Rose big time, didn't I?

"Yeah, looks like it. You're okay too. I'm glad." I gave a smile to him, and the two of us walked into the forest. It was a quiet walk, neither of us wanting to disturb the unconscious Rose. She was actually awake, but I wasn't about to tell Sorey that.. No, that would be too off the rails. Instead, I let her feign waking back up, and listened to them talk while keeping an eye out. We were to head north, due to our pursuers. When we got to the designated location, the rest of the Scattered Bones, who were also members of the Sparrowfeathers, met us there.

It was like I was watching this happen on the TV again. I didn't follow this time, only sort of sitting on some rubble while waiting for them to come back. Once Sorey did come back, with Rose, we headed towards the Tintagel Ruins that served as the hideout for the Scattered Bones. Meeting up with the man Rose called 'Old Man Mayvin', he and Sorey talked for a bit as well as some conversation with Rose until we descended into the hideout once Mayvin had left. We were free to use the beds in the back, but I was still slightly worried over the whole... debt I owed to Rose. I knew she'd said it was alright back in Marlind but...

"Rose!" I caught up to her as she was about to enter another room, grabbing her arm as gently as possible. That had her attention turned back to me.

"Mel? What's up? Don't tell me you're still thinking about the debt-" I nodded, which cut her words off.

"I know you said that I could just ignore it back when we were helping distribute medicine amongst the sick but... I want to help. I want to pay it back. Please, Rose..."

She sighed, getting her arm out of my grip before leading me into the room and sitting on the bed. She pat the side to her left, which indicated to me that she wanted me to sit beside her. So I did, carefully. When I was seated, she sighed and put a hand on her thigh. "Listen, I told you it's alright. I never intended to make it permanent. You helped us with the festival, and even left a note saying you had to go somewhere. It's just clothes! Jeez, you act like it's an entire catastrophe." The last part was said with a smile, as Rose turned her head to look at me.

"Well I... didn't want you to think I was skipping out on it." I admitted sheepishly, looking at my feet. "You helped me when you didn't have to, even bought me _clothes_. What else am I supposed to do except think I'm supposed to pay you back for it?"

"You're a dummy, Mel." Rose pat me on the back. "Why don't you rest here for today? I bet the Shepherd's already asleep and you both have had a long day."

"A-alright." I gave a nod. Rose got up off the bed and I laid on it. The pillow had a slightly floral scent to it, and it smelled really nice. It was difficult to get to sleep at first, but soon I found myself dozing off and dreaming of home again. This time, however, the boy was with me. With his compass, and staring at the scene. I was sitting on the couch, one of the old ones... so this was long before we got the new ones, it seemed. This dream, that is.

" _So this is what you dream of?_ " He asked, walking to sit next to me.

"I guess. I miss home, kiddo. I dream about it a lot when I'm not home. Like if I'm out at a friend's house... or at a hotel..."

" _I didn't think I'd be able to access your dreams when I wanted to talk to you. I guess that makes this easier._ " The boy set the compass aside, before looking at me. His green eyes had a slight purple colouring to them, possibly because of the malevolence. " _But you're on the right track. Staying with Sorey will help your journey and make it easier. So don't lose track of him..._ "

As he said that, the entire room faded. And he looked at himself before fading from view. I felt something shaking me, and groaned as the world returned to me. I was in Tintagel ruins, and I was being shaken awake by Eguille. Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes a little before looking at him. "Whassamatter?"

"It's morning." He said. "You weren't waking up for a bit there."

"A-ah... sorry about that. I guess the events of yesterday caught up to me." I chuckled nervously and got off the bed.

"The Shepherd is up, and Rose is with him. You should go catch up before they leave without you." He just laughed a little at my concerned face. "They're going to explore deeper into the ruins. They got the door open."

Oh... Oh yeah. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

Meeting up with Sorey was easy, as Rose had already gone on ahead. I could see Mikleo, Lailah and Edna again, so the rest I took must've helped my resonance. Izayoi was there as well, and I gave her a thumbs up to note that I could see her again. The six of us continued in, and I felt the weight in my chest again for a bit as Izayoi took up residence within me as her vessel. It didn't last too long walking through the ruins as Rose accidentally sealed us in a room. That was great, but at least things would continue on as they should. As time passed for Rose to find a way to open the door, Lailah talked about Rose potentially joining the group. I tuned it out, knowing exactly how it went and counting down the seconds until the snake hellion trap was activated. It wasn't too long, about thirty seconds before that happened. We were able to take them out as Sorey told Rose we were fighting ghosts- which made her let him deal with it.

The second one, however, was smoke. The puzzle for it was going to be difficult to figure out.

Both Sorey and I tested out each platform and figured out which ones stayed down. It took us about a minute to figure it out, thankful that it didn't take longer than that. The smoke dispersed, and we were safe. I coughed, having held my breath for as long as I could to stop myself from inhaling any smoke and damaging my lungs. It was difficult in a trap-filled room. Maybe ruins just weren't for me...

The door opened, but there was a hellion's domain that suddenly flashed into existence. Rose's scream drew us to her, and she was standing scared as Dezel protected her from the Hellion. Sorey drew the hellion's attention, and I ran over to Rose instead of joining in the combat.

"Come on, this way." I said, helping her back to the other room.

"M-Melanie, there's..." Rose was shaking something fierce. Her fear of ghosts was all Dezel's fault, wasn't it...? "Th-there's..."

"Take a few deep breaths, you're alright. It's not with us." But she'd be running back in soon to help Sorey and become his Squire.

"But... Sorey, he's... He's back there fighting it and I..." She looked back, past Dezel and to the fight itself. Sorey was trying his hardest, but... They needed the Wind Element for this one, and the only one who could help was Dezel himself. But he wouldn't if Rose didn't... And there was no way it would happen on its own. With a sigh, I gave her a pat on the back.

"Go on. I'll be right behind you."

"Y-yeah!"

And it went the same way. Except the true name Sorey gave her was something along the lines of "Wilk Suatya" or something like that, which had me raising an eyebrow. Either there was some inconsistency, or Sorey never wanted to name Rose "Wilkis Wilk". Regardless of the matter, joining in on the fight was easy and soon Rose started to fight alongside us as well with Lailah. We were able to defeat the hellion and return it to normal, but then Edna played a trick to reveal what Dezel had done- Make Rose an unwilling vessel for his power, to use her as he pleased. It made it easy to puppet her around, and I bit my lower lip. I'd known that this entire time, and yet...

I kept it to myself.

Rose wouldn't be up for a bit, and neither would the dog seraph. I hadn't needed to use Izayoi's power like the others had used Dezel and Lailah's... It'd been just me fighting with them, and it'd helped just a bit. I was fine with that. Walking over to where Rose laid, I pulled off my jacket and used it as a makeshift blanket while letting her use my lap as a pillow to make sure she had a good rest while we waited for her to wake up. It was different, watching everyone converse while I just stayed out of it. I always did, after all. I didn't want to influence things too much... But I guess I had already by meeting Rose when I did.

Maybe this journey wouldn't be so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I CRAFTED LORE.
> 
> I love crafting lore that may or may not fit but I have a whole thing about the Oracle and how they operate with and without a Shepherd and it's really neat and I'm happy about it and I hope you guys enjoyed this. If not, don't leave a scathing comment. That's not constructive D:


	5. Margaret and Watts

"Next!"

The line moved forward. Sorey, Rose and I were in the back. Izayoi was lingering behind me, a hand on my shoulder. We'd explored Tintagel Ruins, and found the Trials for the Shepherd. Oysh was reflecting on what had made him a hellion, and Dezel's intentions had been revealed. The Trials were what we were currently going to look for in Pendrago, or at least a mural for them. The first stop was Lastonbell, and there was a line because of the current tensions and the prospect of war on the horizon. Because Rolance had deemed the Shepherd a heretic, we had to be more careful.

"How far to Pendrago from here?" I asked.

"Shouldn't be too far. Maybe a day's travel at most on foot. By carriage, it takes about four hours." Rose said with a smile.

"I wonder if we'll see anything on the way there... Like some sort of ancient ruins!" Sorey pondered. Apparently the seraphim said something, because Rose's face went pale. She still wasn't used to the whole disembodied voice thing. I didn't blame her, it was why I'd requested Izayoi stay out unless absolutely necessary to hide. She had seemed very compliant, especially after my... minor breakdown hearing her voice in my head. That had been heavily unpleasant.

"Can you quit doing the disembodied voice thing? It gives me the creeps!" Rose said, frustrated and scared because of whatever was said inside of her head. Since I wasn't a part of the Sorey circle, I didn't know exactly what was said but I could surmise it might've followed along the lines of the usual chatter that went on during this part of the game. A few things had changed, but not everything had. Dezel's intentions remained the same, and everything _seemed_ to be following the directed path that I was familiar with... But I couldn't be sure.

Rose's True Name, given to her by Sorey, should've been Wilkis Wilk. Not Wilk Sutya, or whatever it'd become. Perhaps my presence had changed that, or perhaps that hadn't been the intention in the beginning... I shook my head, hearing the guard calling for the next person. The merchant in front of us went into Lastonbell for the check, and soon it would be our turn. I wondered how we would get by the guards... Would they act as if they were husband and wife again, or...? Maybe I should step in on this one. Lies... weren't my forte, really, but I could definitely _try._ As we waited to be called, I formulated a plan of action. We were merchants, Sorey was our bodyguard and we were there to deliver goods. That sounded good!

"Next!"

And now it was our turn. The three of us headed into Lastonbell, immediately stopped by Sergei walking up to us. He introduced us, and Rose showed him her merchant's pass which allowed her access, and said we were here making a delivery. We were allowed to pass, but then Sergei noted Sorey's sword and how it looked ceremonial. As poor Sorey looked at his sword, I stepped forward.

"We don't know what kind of things we may come across as we travel, so we hired a bodyguard. His sword may look ceremonial, but it's just to get people's guards down about how strong he is!" I pat Sorey's back.

"I see." Sergei didn't believe me, I knew that already. He didn't believe it when Rose had made up a place to deliver goods to, so he wouldn't believe me saying Sorey was just a bodyguard. Izayoi made a motion to knock him out with a quizzical look and I shook my head. It seemed I confused Sergei, as his face became quizzical.

"Sorry, I was thinking." I said.

"Well, if there is nothing else." Sergei stood straight. "Welcome to Lastonbell."

With that, we were allowed to continue into the city. People were talking about a lot of things, and overhearing it was weird. There was some talk about Margaret... and that made my heart sink. A demon child saying there was no Seraphim in the church, as they called her. It seemed this information wasn't picked up by Sorey and Rose, so I knew what I had to do. Just this once, just this one split.

"Hey, guys. I'll stick around here in Lastonbell for a bit and meet you guys in Pendrago when I'm done. If I'm not done by the time you guys are through there, come get me." I said, before going off to investigate. This was going to be the day I make something sad not happen. What happened to Margaret and Wiggs had broken my heart. It was going to change, I had to make it change... I knew it was inevitable, but there was something pushing me to change _something_. I didn't know what was pushing me to do this, but I would have to do it.

Izayoi looked around as we investigated the tale of Margaret. It seemed she'd just been saying that there was no seraph in the church, not that there wasn't a seraph. This had made the Lastonbell seraph leave because of the way people had been treating the girl. Like a heretic, it seemed. That, plus the murderers at night, had made things simple for me. I'd have to wait until night to do what I had to do... but if things went right, I'd be able to save a life, go to the caverns and ask for the seraph to return. If not... well, I'd have to wait for Sorey to come back.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Melanie?" Izayoi asked. "We... we shouldn't be too far from Lailah, you know..."

"Why not?" I asked, curious as I sat on the bed. We'd be staying here until night, so we could do some shopping and other things while we waited. I wasn't too bothered about being separated from Sorey. This way we could do some good, and not have to hang on the plot's coattails since we weren't really a part of the story.

"Because! It's safer with her. Wherever the Shepherd goes, it's safer..." Izayoi sat down on the floor, back against the wall. "I know I have the power of purification, but I don't want to stray too far from her. She's been a Prime Lord longer than I have, and it..."

"We'll be fine, Izayoi! Besides, we have Armatization, right?" I asked with a smile. "Even though we haven't tried it yet!"

Izayoi gave a laugh. "I suppose that's true, but..."

"But?"

"...I don't know. Perhaps it's my oath preventing me from speaking about it, but something just doesn't feel right."

Something doesn't feel right? That was a curious statement. Instead of pressing it, I ended up laying on the bed and staring at the ceiling. I should've been out for a long time after Izayoi and I had made our pact, to get me used to her power, but that had never happened. Perhaps it was because I wasn't the same... type of human like Glenwood usually had. For all intents and purposes, I was an alien. God, thinking of it that way was weird... but how could I understand any of them? I hadn't actually given it much thought since being here, though now I had enough time to ponder that. Perhaps it had something to do with that kid that I kept seeing, or perhaps I was just translating their words without realizing it. Turning onto my side, my back to the room itself as I stared at the wall, I wondered if I could really do any sort of change to this world that was substantial.

I wasn't sure about it, but I had to try regardless. Regardless of what I wanted to actually do, which was continue on with Sorey and the others. It was a bit of a risk to do what I was doing, which was take on a couple hellions by myself... but the pressure in my chest was pushing me forward. I coughed, closing my eyes for a moment and finding myself waking up while hearing a scream. Bolting out of bed, I saw Izayoi on her feet with her hammer. We looked to each other and then headed outside of the inn to see a woman about to get attacked by a hellion. Izayoi ran in and hit it with her hammer, and I ran to the woman's side before helping her up.

"Come on, get out of here before it attacks you!" I said, pushing her towards the inn. Once she was out of the way, I reached behind me and under my coat to grab the daggers I had. With Izayoi's power, perhaps we could purify Margaret before she ran off and... That's right. Her escape route had to be blocked off. "Izayoi, can you form a barrier of bubbles or something along the perimeter?!"

"I can- but why are you asking?"

"Just trust me and do it!"

Izayoi gave a small nod before starting to cast a spell. The hellionized Margaret tried to take the opportunity to attack Izayoi but I pulled her attention to me by attacking. I hated this. I was hurting a child, in a way. I hated it. I hated it so much. But to get her back to normal-

I had to do this.

"I'm sorry, Margaret." I said as I struck. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. "I'm so sorry."

She'd been bullied so badly she'd hellionized in response and became a monster. Became what the people had called her, and that wasn't right. Izayoi finished her cast, and a barrier surrounded the area we were fighting in. It cut off Margaret's escape route, which was what I was hoping for. We could continue to fight, and hopefully purify the malevolence that encased the poor child. This was something I was truly hoping for. The weight in my chest increased slightly, and I coughed again as I went to strike so it knocked me off my balance and had me stumbling instead. I was lucky that Izayoi had her attention, or else it would've been difficult for me to avoid an attack.

As expected, Margaret tried to flee but found her route cut off. I ran as she looked for another way, and quickly called forth Izayoi's power of purification. Silvery bubbles engulfed my daggers, and the weight increased again. I suppressed the cough, knowing that there was a chance I could break my ribs if I did that, and stabbed my daggers into her back with an apology. The bubbles burst and turned into the silver flames of purification, which burned all over the wolf-like hellion. I hoped and prayed I hadn't actually stabbed her in the back, and watched as the wolf hellion disappeared and left a girl there. She was out cold, and I couldn't leave her there. I checked her pulse, making sure she was still alive... and she was. Margaret was still alive, and I looked to Izayoi.

"We're taking her with us. I'll fight the second one on my own so look after her." I said with a smile on my face. I was truly, truly happy even though I could feel the tears rolling down my cheeks. The increased weight in my chest didn't help, and I coughed. Covering my mouth as I did so, I slowly pulled my hand away once I was done coughing and saw blood on my glove. All the coughing I'd been doing lately must have torn my throat up, as it did feel dry... and now had the taste of blood in it. It wasn't metallic like people always described, as it had absolutely no taste whatsoever, but it was concerning. Disregarding it, I picked Margaret up and we headed to the opposite end of the city.

"I'm glad she's alright." Izayoi said. "I'll protect her as much as I'm able, but..."

"But?" I looked over to her.

"If you need me, say my true name for the Armatization. My true name is _Yufuwasu Ezavi_."

"Got it."

We left Lastonbell, just as a big Hellion started making its way towards here. The guards were skeptical, due to me carrying a child, but had let us pass when I said I was stepping out to see if there was an herb to help Margaret's current state of unconsciousness. Setting her gently on the ground, I gestured to Izayoi to take care of her before pulling my daggers out to meet the Hellion halfway. A fight started between us, with me on the defensive after a few attacks. It seemed Wiggs had been a hellion much longer, and this would take some effort.

But he was powerful. Too powerful.

Though I did my best to attack, there was little I could do without leaving an opening for him to get me with his claws. Izayoi didn't know this type of hellion, which was bad for me... If I didn't already know. A Breed Wolf, which was a beast turned into a hellion itself. But unlike the game, there were no openings for me to attack after he did. This was bad... This was really, really bad. And I knew that from the first moment I made this plan, but I had to hold out. I had to do this, if not for the sake of a child then for the sake of the mother who would never know her daughter's fate.

Purification was out of the question if I couldn't even get a hit in. I dodged as many attacks as I could, having shucked off the coat and threw it aside to increase my mobility without it and hopefully not get it ruined. I felt the tear of my skin as I dodged a swipe, and felt blood roll down my arm. It hurt, but I grit my teeth and bore it. There were things I had to do, there was a small child who needed her dog back... And I wasn't going to let this continue.

I jumped back, sheathing my daggers and pulling out the crossbow that Izayoi had given me. I couldn't do this on my own, I needed her help.

"With this divine artifact, I invoke the Armatization!" I said as the Breed Wolf started to charge me. "Come to me, _Yufuwasu Ezavi_!"

The crossbow glowed, and I felt Izayoi's power cloaking me. My outfit changed with the armatization, mirroring her own but with white, silver and blue. There was a cloak covering me with a hood, and I noticed Izayoi's ring designs holding the cloak together. The crossbow was hooked to my left arm with a silver bangle, and was a bit bigger than what it was before I'd armatized with Izayoi. There was a trigger that could be squeezed so I could fire arrows...

" _Let's go, Melanie. Margaret will be fine for a few minutes without me._ " Izayoi said.

"Right." And our fight began again. This time, Izayoi guided my arrows as I shot at the Breed Wolf. He was resistant to Water, but I wasn't going to give up. This was a mission of mine, away from Sorey and the others...

"Melanie!"

 _Speak of the devil_. " _ **Sorey! We need your help, this is too much for us!**_ " Izayoi and I said at the same time. Had he known all along, or had Dezel sensed my intention? They shouldn't have gotten back so soon... Maybe something had happened? Or was I asleep for longer than I should have been? Either way, their help would be appreciated at this point. " _ **It's resistant to water,**_ but Earth should be its weakness!"

"Alright! _Hephsin Yulind!_ " Sorey armatized with Edna, and assisted us in the fight. Rose, not wanting to be left out, armatized with Lailah and started to attack. It took what seemed to be an eternity, but soon the Breed Wolf's malevolence was purified, and I separated Izayoi's power from me. I walked over to Wiggs, kneeling down to put a hand to his chest. He was unconscious as well, but alive. The weight increased again, perhaps because of the armatization, and I found myself coughing a bit harder than usual.

"Oh dear!" Lailah was by my side in an instant. "Are you alright?"

"Fine.. Just fine." I said, with a weak smile before pulling my hand away from my mouth. Hearing Lailah gasp, she took my hand to examine it.

"Blood! Don't tell me... you have consumption?!" There was a concerned look on her face.

"No, no. This isn't consumption. If it was, Sorey and Rose would have it too." I said. "Don't worry."

"But it could be fatal! Let me see-"

"Lailah-!"

* * *

"Wait- what?" I sat there confused. "You guys have been gone for four days?"

"Yeah." Sorey nodded in response. "We were just coming back when we saw you fighting that Breed Wolf."

"Not to mention how reckless that was." Mikleo commented.

"Typical." Edna turned away.

"You got hurt from it too!" Lailah said with a frown on her face. My arm had been bandaged and taken care of, but it would need a bit of time to fully heal. "You shouldn't be so reckless, Melanie. Taking on a Breed Wolf without our help was endangering your life!"

"Sorry, but I... I wanted to help Margaret." I said, looking at my shoes. "Her mother would've been in denial of her daughter being dead, and no mother should ever have to bury their children. I know that too well."

"You're a mother?" That was exclaimed all across the room. I looked up immediately.

"No! My mother... My brother died before his time because of... circumstances, and she always told me that no mother should ever have to bury her child." The memory was painful, and I closed my eyes. Remembering the day I heard of his death, and when my mom had told me about it. She hadn't been in the best of ways, and a part of her still seemed to be missing to this day.

"Oh no..." Lailah looked down.

"That's so sad..." Sorey looked a bit sad too.

"That's why I did what I did. And I couldn't let them die, that would've..." I trailed off, looking back at my shoes.

It would be alright, I knew it would. They caught me up on what I'd missed while they were gone, and said that they'd be getting Lastonbell's seraph back and get the blessing back. I offered to stay until they came back from that, and was there when they left to say goodbye. Rose looked... oddly worried, however, and put a hand on my cheek.

"You look pale. Are you sure you should be up?" Rose asked, voice filled with concern.

"I'm fine, Rose. Hurry or they'll leave you behind!" I said, false enthusiasm in my voice. "I'll be here to go with you guys to Gododdin, so don't worry about it alright?"

"...Okay." Rose wasn't convinced but left anyway. I waved goodbye as they headed out of Lastonbell, and watched the doors close. Suddenly, I felt very sleepy. Like to the point I needed more sleep. That was weird, I was usually fine when I first woke up... The energy felt like it had just been depleted from my body, and I could barely keep my eyes open. One of the guards noticed this, and started to ask me questions but everything looked like it was fading away.

The last thing I remembered, before the world went black, was feeling a pair of arms grab me and a voice calling my name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) I skipped over a lot of stuff because I went too far in my ToZ playthrough, and needed to catch the fic up.  
> 2) True names are hard.
> 
> I had a bit of a time with this, finding myself crying during the Margaret and Wiggs scene in Zestiria proper enough to change it in here. This will have a consequence later on, as it's already planned out, but for now I'm kind of happy. And I know it was supposed to carry the message of "not everyone can be saved", but after legit crying I figured I would have to address it at some point...
> 
> Ah well.


	6. Fate is Cruel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so, if you want to ask me questions and stuff about the story, you can do so over at my [tumblr](https://arcanisluna.tumblr.com)!
> 
> Sorry for the fast pacing of this one.

It felt like an age.

Everything felt so heavy, including my eyes. But I tried my hardest to open my eyes. I had been in an unending void of nothingness, so time felt weird to me. What had happened? It felt like there was a fog in my head, stopping me from thinking properly. I heard voices, and one of them was concerned and worried. The other was a deep, familiar voice... Arvald...? How had he...?

My consciousness faded as I let that thought cross my mind.

* * *

It wasn't too long before I found myself regaining consciousness again. I still felt so, so heavy. I heard voices again. But this time a woman's voice.. A rough voice... Ryda? Was I with the bandits again? Izayoi's voice broke through, and I heard her say something along the lines of there being something wrong with our pact and that I shouldn't be having this problem...

Or perhaps I misheard.

It wasn't long before I fell back into the darkness, unable to stay conscious for longer than a few minutes.

* * *

When I was finally able to open my eyes, a week had passed. I'd been meaning to wait for Sorey and the others, but I'd spent the entirety of the time they were gone fading in and out of consciousness. Sitting up, I put my hands to my face. My head felt fuzzy and there was the feeling of brain fog. I probably woke up too quickly, but that would be a problem for later. It didn't seem like there was anyone there, so I got out of the bed, though shakily as I hadn't moved for quite some time and my body had to readjust to it. It took a few moments to reach the door and open it. I was in the Lastonbell Inn, and...

"You're awake!" I heard Rose's voice, and looked over to see her hurrying to my side. A good thing, too, as I fell over onto her and she had to hold me up. With a sigh and a smile, she helped me over to the lobby of the inn and helped me sit in one of the chairs. The weight in my chest was heavy. Heavier than it usually was, and it felt like it was pressing against my chest and forcing me to breathe a bit harder than usual. There wasn't much I could do except try to breathe normally with the weight in my chest. I didn't know what was wrong, but I knew I didn't like it. It felt like my entire body was rejecting _something_ , but what was it? I didn't know, and it was _suffocating._

"Are you alright?" Lailah asked, putting a hand to my head. "...You're not feverish. But you still look really pale."

Izayoi shook her head. "It's never really happened like this before. I don't know what's wrong with her, Lailah. I don't understand." She looked depressed, and very upset with herself.

"Don't think too hard on it, Izayoi. We'll figure out the solution. In fact, we're going to Goddodin soon. Maybe there's a solution there."

"I can carry her along." The voice of Arvald was surprising. I looked up at him, the tall intimidating man. "That way she won't overexert herself and collapse again. And if she passes out, well, she's safe with me."

"Alright. Thank you, Arvald." Lailah bowed a little, her hands still clasped in front of her. "I appreciate yours and Aevar's help."

"Guys, I'm fine..." I said, but obviously I wasn't. I wanted to be, and yet... there was no way for me to be. This had been happening since the moment I'd become the Oracle, and I suppose it was a way of saying I hadn't adjusted to Izayoi being my Prime Lord. I didn't understand why I hadn't, but... perhaps there was a reason as to why. Maybe there was something wrong, that neither Izayoi nor Lailah could understand.

The plan ended up being that Arvald would carry me there, and I'd basically rest in the places he put me as to not use up all the energy I was already low on. It wasn't ideal, but it was something. Though there was a bit of a spat between Sorey and Dezel about bringing me along in this condition, the wind seraph relented and just scoffed. A "do as you want" coming from him. Guess he cared, but I'd gotten that feeling for some time that he was just a big softie in the end. Maybe it was just my memories of playing the game that was influencing this, but at this point I didn't really care. As soon as everything was set and ready, Arvald picked me up in his arms and ducked under the doorframe. I'd forgotten how big he was, or never paid much attention. Arvald was a giant of a man, and he easily dwarfed the others by quite a bit. Perhaps his genetics were different from others, or he just had an intense growth spurt.

Either way, it was effective since he could deal with hellions with one hand free. Aevar, who was trailing behind and had been quiet the entire time, spoke up after a bit. "You scared me, you know? Fainting like that. Izayoi keeps saying she doesn't understand what's wrong, but there's something amiss. When did this start happening?"

I had to think. When _exactly_ did it start happening?

* * *

" _Why are you here?!" Lailah asked as Sorey armatized with Edna. "Water seraphim are more suspectible to being corrupted by malevolence, Izayoi!"_

_The seraph, Izayoi, shook her head. "I followed my dreams, Lailah. They told me the Oracle was here! Even if I turn into a Hellion, I must see this through!"_

_Lailah gasped. "But that's just a fairytale!"_

_Izayoi smacked her hammer against one of the hellions, and bubbles appeared. They seemed to glow with the same light that Lailah's flames of purification did, but it was no use. "No, the Oracle is real. They help the Shepherd. But I suppose your oath prevents you from speaking about it." The water seraph tucked her hair behind her ear. It was silver, with light blue at the ends and reached her waist while tied back in a low ponytail at the nape of her neck. There were some pieces of her hair that fell free, framing her face. Izayoi's outfit consisted of a white off-shoulder shirt, a black corset and a pale blue skirt that reached only the middle of her middle finger. Black leggings and silver boots brought together the ensemble, and on her hands were rings of silver and blue. Her eyes were a silver colour as well. A beautiful woman made for combat, it seemed._

" _Izayoi!" The malevolence seemed to be converging on the water seraph, who was trying to hold it back with the bubbles. Lailah was concerned, and tried burning the malevolence away. It didn't work. "Izayoi, you need a vessel! You're going to become a hellion!"_

" _I know, Lailah. But the Oracle... They're here, and I'm going to help them. That's why I made my purification oath, so I could also help." Izayoi held out her hand. It wasn't hard for me to imagine who she might've been waiting for. With a sharp intake of breath, I took her hand. She looked at me, and then her face softened into a smile._

_It was almost instant, our pact. Unlike Lailah's, there was no fancy words. No "I'll become the Oracle!", a mirror of what Sorey would have done. It was a silent agreement, something we both decided on within a moment. But when she entered me, I felt a weight and a pain in my chest. Like something was wrong, an imbalance in my body. I took in another breath, and exhaled slowly. She hopped out of my body in a flash of light, hammer held in one hand._

" _Our pact is complete." Izayoi said. "Now I can assist you, Lailah."_

* * *

Back then... when we were forced to fight in a war. I'd felt so odd when the pact was made, and it merely persisted until I armatized... and then it got worse. I coughed a little, a dry cough that still hurt my chest and didn't dislodge the weight that I felt in it. Leaning against Arvald, I closed my eyes for a bit. When I opened them again, the sun had nearly set and camp was being set up for the night. I was sitting against a tree, and I hadn't answered Aevar's question from earlier. I'd probably passed out when I just wanted to rest my eyes for a few moments to ignore the pain...

"You're awake." I looked over to Izayoi, who was standing with her back towards me. "I've been thinking. I believe I know why you're having such a hard time, and I had to ask Lailah to confirm. The last time I made a pact was when there was an Earth Seraph as a Prime Lord. Now that Lailah's Prime Lord, we're imbalanced."

Imbalanced? Wait, didn't that mean that the pact was the problem? "Izayoi?"

"You can walk, so come with me." Carefully, I stood up and started walking with her. We walked for a bit, until we came across a couple of hellions. There was a seraph attempting to fight them off, but failing badly. Izayoi sighed and armatized with me, and I could feel the weight increasing even more. I stumbled, but moved myself forward to help the seraph before they got killed by the hellions.

It wasn't too difficult to defeat the hellions, but it was _extremely_ taxing. My body felt heavier and heavier, and I had to force-cancel the armatization before I fell over. I coughed, collapsing to my knees and unable to breathe. The weight was suffocating me, continually. I could hear Izayoi's panic, and then a resigned noise from someone else. The weight, slowly, lifted from my chest and I was able to catch my breath. There was a hand on my back, and a warm feeling.

"I can't do this every time, Izayoi. You're making her worse." The seraph snapped, turning to her. I stood and looked at the two. The seraph had long, black hair tied into a ponytail with the Fire Seraph pink ends and wore a tattered red scarf, a grey dirty tunic with black trim, long black pants and matching boots. Attached to his belt was a chakram, and sheathed at his side was a sword. I couldn't see his face, but he had tanned skin. Unlike Lailah, he was rough-looking like he always fought something.

Or perhaps that was just my imagination.

When he looked at me, I noted his eyes were a crimson colour. Izayoi wrung her hands a little, glancing away from me. Looking between us, the seraph sighed and gave me a slight shove back. Usually, I could catch myself but I felt overwhelmed and fell backwards into the grass. I could see spots as I hit my head on the ground, and covered my eyes to make sure the pain would go away. What was he trying to prove by doing this?

"She's not going to last much longer, Izayoi. Maybe a week at most. Look how far she's deteriorated just from being in a pact with you!"

"I-I know, I just..." Izayoi's voice was thick with grief. "I don't want to leave Lailah unprotected!"

"I don't care about your perceived feelings for Lailah. Instead of letting them go, you choose a human vessel not even _two months_ after the previous one died because of you." Wait, what? "Now you're killing another because you want to be close to Lailah. I won't be able to save her unless you undo your pact _now._ "

"I can't! Lailah needs me, and I-"

I heard the sound of a hand meeting someone's face and uncover my face, sitting up. The seraph had slapped Izayoi, who was holding her hand against her cheek. Her eyes were filled with tears, and she looked back at the seraph.

"Kain, you know that I have to be with Lailah..." Izayoi said, causing the seraph to grab her shoulders.

"You're _killing this innocent human in the process!_ Didn't you learn about the Oracle Rules?! Dissolve the pact, or she'll-"

"Wait..." I stood up. "...I'm dying? Izayoi, is... the pact killing me?"

"No, of course not!" Izayoi said, lying to me. "You're just having some problems adjusting to being my vessel!"

"It is," Kain said bluntly, letting go of Izayoi and walking up to me. "With how far you've deteriorated, you only have about a week or less left to live unless Izayoi dissolves the pact with you."

A... week or less?

I was going to die without being able to go back home? My vision blurred as tears filled my eyes. I wouldn't be seeing anyone at home again, would I? Not my friends, my family... or my pets. I'd die in Glenwood, never being able to go back home and... It was just too much, so I left the two of them there as I ran off towards the camp. If I'm to die, then I'll do it with the others.

Not alone. Never alone.

* * *

Izayoi hadn't talked to me since. It'd only been about eight hours since we talked and I'd passed out once I reached camp. The burden of knowing my life was being cut so short was heavy, but not heavy enough to outweigh the weight in my chest. The sign that my life was close to ending. I didn't understand why this was happening to _me_ of all people, but I had always had shitty luck. When I'd gotten back to camp yesterday, I'd informed them of the fact I only had a week or less to live due to Izayoi's pact with me. They all had taken it as well as they could, but I knew they were concerned.

Arvald's shirt was soft, and it felt nice against my face. Something I wouldn't feel again once I passed. Izayoi was being selfish, concerning herself with assisting Lailah with me being the Oracle without being concerned about my well being. She didn't even seem to care that I was dying because of her, as she continued on like nothing was happening. Kain, the seraph from before, was trailing behind with Aevar. We were headed in the same direction of Goddodin, so he had decided to tag along.

Once we were there, Arvald set me against the wall at the gate and Aevar sat beside me. I didn't really care about what was going on, more concerned about how short my life had been cut because of Izayoi, who was outright ignoring me now. I wouldn't help Sorey with taking down Cardinal Forton, I wouldn't be able to see the end of the journey. I was dying, and I wouldn't make it to Pendrago in this state.

I would be dead before then.

I hadn't taken much thought into my own mortality until I learned, and Kain had been brutally honest about it. I wasn't going to survive for much longer like this.

"Izayoi, _please_... I don't want to die..." I said, voice weak. "Just... dissolve the pact."

Izayoi didn't respond, like usual. For a moment, anyway. "When you die, I'll use your friend. I have to help Lailah, and I'll go through as many humans as I have to so she'll be safe."

That...

Was it.

"So you don't care, huh?" I stood up, the movement paining me as the weight had gone from just my chest to my entire body within the night. "If I die, you'll just use Aevar, right? Dissolve the pact, I'm not going to die because of you!"

"No. I won't." Izayoi turned to me, narrowing her eyes. "Lailah is the most important person in the world to me, _and I won't let stupid humans keep me from protecting her!_ "

Malevolence... Izayoi's entire body was engulfed by it. I hadn't been corrupted, but... perhaps Izayoi had been even before we made our pact. It would make some lick of sense. A whirlwind of malevolence formed, and dispersed soon after to form a drake. I felt the pressure in my body increase, and my vision started to fade. I choked and coughed as I collapsed. I couldn't even keep myself up anymore. This entire time, that feeling... was malevolence? Izayoi... had already been corrupted by malevolence before making her pact with me?

"Damn it!" I heard the familiar rough voice of Kain as warmth spread throughout my body. "I hate it when this happens to old friends. Sorry, Izayoi."

But before I passed out, I saw Sorey and Mikleo move in front of me. Protecting me...? I...

_I don't understand._

* * *

When I woke up, I felt better. The weight was gone, and I didn't feel as bad as I usually did. Sitting up, I noted I was in an inn room. The familiar décor of the Lastonbell inn tipped me off that it'd probably been some time since what happened with Izayoi. I rubbed my eyes, deciding to get out of bed. It was easy to move around, and I cleared my throat a little. My clothes had been changed, and I was just wearing a sleeveless nightshirt with a pair of shorts. Someone must have done that while I was out. Looking about, I didn't notice Izayoi anywhere. If she was a drake, like she had been, she should've been purified and here. When I went to the lobby, I noticed Arvald there without Aevar, and took note of only Edna and Rose there out of Sorey's crew.

"Hey, she's awake." Edna said, obviously meaning me. "About time, we were worried."

"Where's Izayoi...?" I asked, my voice hoarse from not being used for as long as I'd been asleep. "She... should be here."

"Dead," came Edna's response. "If she lived, she would've killed you regardless, so it was the only course of action."

Dead...?

They... killed Izayoi to keep me alive? "But..."

"It'll be hard to adjust, but Sorey's willing to take you on as a Squire too. You alright with that?" Rose asked. "He wants you to come along, and Lailah told us that there's nothing saying an Oracle can't become a Squire until he or she finds another Prime Lord of her own!"

A Squire? Me...? So early into the adventure? But for them, it wasn't as early as it was for someone who spent most of their time sleeping... was it?

"I guess her oath doesn't go into not saying anything about the Oracle business. Not that I know much about it myself. I thought Lailah said it was a fairytale." I took a seat next to Arvald. "Anyway, besides that, are you guys sure Sorey would be okay with it?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" I heard Sorey's voice say. Looking behind me, as best as I could, I saw him with a couple bags in his hands. Lailah, Dezel and Mikleo were with him. "I figured, since you'd probably still want to come with us, it'd be alright to make you a Squire too."

Arvald hadn't spoken up until that point. "Welp, since you kids are gettin' things squared away, I best be off. It was nice travellin' with ya for as long as I did." He was leaving? ...Well, he did have a group of bandits to lead... "I'll be seein' ya when you come back to Ladylake. Don't be a stranger!"

With that, he got up and left. I watched as someone else I knew left me behind... Izayoi, then Arvald..

"So, what do you say?" Sorey's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "Gonna come with us?"

I pondered it for a moment, before giving a small nod. "I still have a lot to do, I guess, so I'll keep travelling with you."


	7. Eizen

"It feels different than when I was armatizing with Izayoi." Lailah appeared beside me as I released the armatization. "Like... I'm not feeling that weight in my chest anymore. It's... strange, but not unpleasant."

"That's how Armatization should be!" Lailah exclaimed, clapping her hands together. We were on our way to Pendrago, and the rains were pouring down on us. For a moment, I stared up at the skies and watched the rain fall. Soon, we'd have to face Cardinal Forton and...

I couldn't think of what would happen next. I didn't like that thought.

We continued onwards, into the city proper. The Knights were in danger of being disbanded, and Sergei had gotten a letter from his brother. Though he was going to go to the Church, Sorey encouraged him to leave it to us. It would be a bit difficult, but with all of us together we could do it-

Or so I hoped. The Cardinal had proven difficult but with the blessing of Musiphe, Sorey could probably finish her without my help. Not that I'd be any help with what little experience I had with the Armatus. I just hoped I could avoid being petrified by her. As we headed for the church, Forton's domain threatened to cut off our resonance. At Mikleo's command, Sorey purified the domain to allow us to keep our resonance.

The whole church was like a maze, and none of us really knew the way. The way forward was blocked by stone tablets that referred to each of the elements. The first one was red and, the moment we got it, it was easy to find the others. Gathering them was our priority, as it helped us find and fight Forton. But it was like running in circles once we found each tablet. Difficult, and very much like a quest for fetching. A fetch quest, if you would.

When we made it into the inner area, there were a ton of statues. Ah- Forton had petrified them. Hearing the others talk about them as if they were just mere statues reminded me that they weren't. I walked up to one in particular, the one that looked like Sergei, and put a hand on the shoulder. Petrified forever. There was no way for them to become human ever again.

A fate worse than death.

And when Forton had noticed us, Dezel had taken her on almost immediately. That was when the rest of them realized he was blind. I'd known since the first time I'd met him, but that was because I had known about it before ending up here. I had to react as shocked as the others, but we were pulled into the battle with Forton.

" _Lukeim Yurlin!_ " I called out almost immediately, armatizing with Dezel.

I had to prevent the others from getting petrified, so I had to knock them down as Forton opened her eyes to petrify. Using the Armatization as best as I could, I was fighting as much as I could solo while protecting the others from getting petrified. But in the end, we prevailed. Releasing the armatization, I felt a little weary afterwards. Perhaps from running around so much and using up a lot of energy.

Watching Rose assassinate Forton and give the calling card of the Scattered Bones, we left the church into the outside. The ground was still wet from the constant rain, but the sun was out and shining. Mid-afternoon, it looked like. I stayed silent as things played out in front of me. Rose talking about the calling card, giving us an alibi almost immediately, and we headed to the Pendrago inn to rest.

* * *

_Rayfalke..._

The dream I was having was interesting. I stood atop the Spiritcrest with the boy next to me, and there was a man not too far from us with the black and purple specks of Malevolence around him. As if consuming him. The boy stepped forward a bit.

"That's Eizen." He said, looking to me. I looked down at him before back at the man, Eizen, who was staring at the sky. A dragon with four horns flew the skies, and it seemed he was watching it. "It seems there's still some of him left... Even though there shouldn't be since he gave himself to the Malevolence..."

I took a step forward myself, and then another. The bracelet on my wrist burned, and I winced. Silvery light came from it, and the boy put a hand to it. "This was his, wasn't it? How did you come across it?"

"...At a store Rose took me to." I look back at the boy, and the light faded. We heard footsteps, and noticed brown boots. One of them was pulled up while the other was folded over. Ah, it was Eizen. Looking up, I noticed how he was looking at us. But his gaze was turned to the boy almost as instantly, and he looked confused.

"...Laphicet?"

"Hello, Eizen. It's been a long time."

* * *

_It's been a long time._

_She's coming to save you from falling fully into Malevolence._

_Power of Purification..._

I woke.

Sitting up, I shook my head. My first destination had to have been Rayfalke, but I'd gone astray. Perhaps I could go back at some point, just with Lailah, and save Eizen from his fate. But... then again, I'd need Sorey nearby to keep the Squire's power going. This was going to be difficult. Climbing out of bed and grabbing my bag, I left the room to go take a bath and think about this.

Perhaps... I'd have to go back at some point. For now, though, I'd have to follow until I had a chance to. Izayoi was no longer with us, which meant that my powers as the Oracle were nil and I couldn't do it on my own. I needed to find a way to bring back said powers, and that would help Sorey immensely. Feeling as if he was straining himself with two Squires, when usually a Shepherd had one active at a time, I had to wonder.

Perhaps Kain could help?


	8. Morgause, the Earth Trial - Edna's turn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second trial commences, and Edna may have accidentally messed it up at first.

"It shouldn't have any averse effects. Your resonance is high enough to offset any potential problems Sorey may have by taking you on as a second Squire. It is... unheard of for a Shepherd to have two Squires, but it isn't uncommon."

We'd travelled back to Goddodin to check up on the former Pope and make sure he was doing okay. Well, Sorey and the others did, but I had decided to talk to Kain. He was knowledgeable about many things, and he seemed to know more than Lailah would ever tell us. His advice was... something I needed, especially now that I wasn't able to be the Oracle.

"It's not too uncommon...?" I asked, concern in my voice. I'm sure that I also had a concerned look on my face, because he laughed and patted my head.

"It isn't. There's no need to worry, Melanie. Sorey can handle you and Rose due to your resonances being higher than Alisha's." Kain ruffled my hair and I fixed it as best as I could. "So, where are you off to after this?"

"We're going to the..." I thought for a moment. "The closest place is Morgause, the Earth Trial shrine. It's within Aifread's Hunting Grounds, so.."

"Alright. I'll be staying in Goddodin for a while and then moving on afterwards. If you need me at any point..." He pulled out a small bell and handed it to me. "Ring this, and I'll come as fast as I can."

I put it in my bag after accepting it. "...Thank you, Kain. Though, could I ask something?"

"Certainly."

It was a question I'd had for a while. Why was he moving about so much? What was he looking for? Was his search along the lines of Zaveid's? A way to...

"Why are you travelling so much? Doesn't that put you at risk?" At that, he looked a little somber and looked away. And, for once, I saw something different. A speck of regret, and concern. "...I'm sorry, did I upset you...?"

"No.. There is a reason..." Kain stepped forward a little, before looking back at me. "I have a younger sister, but she's been gone for centuries. I've been looking for her. I had followed her trail here, but it's gone cold. I'll pick up clues and move on until I find her."

His sister, huh...?

"I hope you can find her someday, Kain." I offered. He chuckled, before giving me a soft pat on my head.

"Thanks. I hope you can find what you're looking for, too."

* * *

After reconvening with Sorey, Rose and the seraphim, we headed off to Aifread's Hunting Grounds. It was strange that they were called that, though perhaps Van Aifread had actually hunted there prior to- I shook my head, clearing my mind of the train of thought I was about to go down. That wasn't something I wanted to think about right now. We would have to do the trial, and get the power of Earth for Sorey. It was Edna's turn to shine, and she didn't seem too enthusiastic as we walked through the stone doors. As we did, the feeling of malevolence made us turn to what had caused it. A big, bull-like man with an axe in his hand.

"That must be the Minotauros!" Lailah exclaimed, stepping back. "Be careful, it's very powerful."

"And it's put us in such a mess..." Another voice said. My attention turned to the source, which was a man garbed in white with nothing but the lower half of his face and hands showing him to be a human... It was another Seraph. "With it standing guard there, what will we do? Such a bind it's put us in..."

He was weird.

"Shepherd Pawan?" Lailah seemed confused as to why he was here.

"Lady Lailah!" Aaand Pawan wasn't paying much attention to her eyes, as his head dipped down a little. "You're looking as lovely as ever!"

"And you're as creepy as ever." She turned away, possibly regretting her outfit choice. I let them talk amongst themselves, tuning out for a minute, as I looked over to the Minotauros. How would we make it move? It seemed impossible from our position but... Wind beat Earth, after all, so perhaps armatizing with Dezel would work in this situation.

But that would be a pickle if it was just a one-on-one...

"Huh?!" I heard Rose's shock and looked over as Pawan advanced on her. With a sigh, I put myself in front of her, pushing him back a little. He was excited because of there being women around, and was giving off a creepy vibe.

"We're here to get the Shepherd's power. No more, no less. So _please_ stop creeping on my girlfriend." The words were out of my mouth before I realized it, and I groaned audibly. I just gave this creep more ammo. _Terrific._

It seemed to stun _everyone_ , even Pawan.

"Wait- Melanie, what? Did you just call Rose your-" Sorey started, but Rose cut him off to finish his sentence.

"-girlfriend?"

"I-I mean, you're my friend! Who's also a girl. And someone who's helped me! So... uh- friend... girl... who is friend, yeah. Something like that." I tried, but failed miserably, to explain it away. I hadn't meant to use the term, but...

That was when Edna walked up to Pawan while I was trying to explain away what I actually meant and failing. It caught all of our attention, so we stopped and watched.

"Hey, mister?" Edna put on a really cutesy voice. "Edna's so lonely... She could use a big hug." She was even acting cutesy! This wasn't the Edna we knew- Perhaps it was just that, an act?

"Well! Aren't you a precious little thing! Your name is Edna?" Pawan's attention was turned from Rose and I to Edna, which was terrific. Now he'd stop being a creep- hopefully.

"Aw, please, mister! Edna's so cold!" Edna was trying her hardest.

"Oh! But... but there's a trial, you see? And we need to get to the altar and-"

And the act was dropped immediately, as Edna let out a huff of air. "Useless. Is that all you can think about? The trial?"

"I mean- the Shepherd is here for the trial, and-"

He wasn't going to get a word in edgewise acting like that. Edna seemed truly fed up with him as she walked over to the Minotauros after closing her parasol. Sorey and Lailah protested, and the Minotauros turned to face her as she stopped behind him. Oh boy, this was going to be-

"Scram."

The Minotauros looked taken aback by what Edna had said. I stared. Was this the proper course of action?

"Get. Outta. My. Face!"

With that, the Minotauros fled, and Edna seemed satisfied with herself. However, that hadn't been the proper course of action, as Pawan soon told us. The trial had been to quell the Minotauros, which had been my first thought but I hadn't really said it aloud. I'd thought it, sure, but it was obvious that, if there was a hellion...

Well, it needed to be quelled. No ifs, ands or buts... Except for the Cardinal. That was for her own good, after all... Or so I hoped it had been. Rose had done the killing, but I still wondered how it was affecting Sorey to see her killed in front of him when he wanted to quell the malevolence and turn her back to a human form.

Though, it wasn't hard to track down the Minotaurus. It'd taken a few simple steps, but we found it standing inside of one of the buildings. The bull hellion had decided to stop running, and so we would have to fight and quell it. Immediately, Sorey called for Dezel and Rose called for Mikleo. I, however, chose Edna. This was her trial, dammit, and she would need to fight too.

"Just terrific. I get you this time. Don't mess up." Edna said, her deadpan tone sounding less disappointed than earlier. "Watch the Minotauros and let me aim the punch."

"Okay." I gave a small nod in understanding, curling my hands into fists and taking a fighting stance. The rock fists to my sides did the same, following my arms. It was Edna who guided my fighting. Minotauros roared loudly, and rushed at me first. I crossed my arms in front of me, bringing the rock gauntlets in front and blocking the heavy axe swinging at me. It caused Edna to give a little grunt of pain, and I remembered she was the armour covering me.

"Sorry."

"Don't worry, just fight!" Edna said.

After he went after Rose, who had caught his attention with a perfectly-timed arrow, I ran at him and pulled my fist back, thrusting it forward. The gauntlet caught the side of the Minotauros, sending it skidding sideways before it gave a guttural roar and charged, head down. We jumped over, with Rose shooting off another arrow and Sorey sweeping his arm, sending the wind-aspected swords raining towards the Minotauros. Landing, I headed in for another punch but it got me in the side with its axe. There was no blood, just pain. Edna was getting the worst of it, but she was sturdier than I'd given her credit for. Both of us had cried out in pain when that had hit, though the pain had been temporary at best.

Rose swapped with Lailah, holding the claymore tight in her hands as she swept it in an arc towards the Minotauros. It deflected her attack and went to cleave her with the axe when I caught it in its ribs, sending it flying into the nearby wall. The sound of the wall breaking as the impact caused a Minotauros-shaped hole in it reverberated in the chamber. It roared again, and came charging out of the hole towards us. Sorey blocked its path with wind-aspected blades, and swooped in to deliver a kick. The blade cut its side and it roared again. It really liked roaring.

"It's not working!" Sorey exclaimed as we jumped over its charge yet again, trying to avoid getting hit and hurting the Seraphim. "What do we do?!"

That was when the sound hit our ears. The sound of children crying. And I stopped, remembering my own cries when I was that young. We were... fighting children... They had been bullied, hurt and damaged just like I had been, and it felt awful to know what I was doing. I stayed put, hearing the yells and screams of the people who had been meant to care for me while my mother wasn't able to. I understood too well what this meant.

"...They're crying." I said, voice low. "It's... no wonder the Minotauros ran away when Edna told them to. They're... children."

"...It's not impossible for children to become hellions. You know this, Melanie. You quelled Margaret and her dog when they were hellions themselves." Lailah said. I nodded, and looked at the Minotauros before releasing the armatization. I had wanted to save them, and I had done it... but this seemed impossible. Though...

I turned to Edna. "Hey, I think you... may have something to say to them." I said. Edna looked over to me, and I saw her bright blue eyes filled with tears. She covered her face with her parasol, as if hiding that fact. She didn't like to show emotion, and I didn't blame her. But I watched, along with the others, as Edna walked up to the Minotaros.

She stared up at it.

"Sorry for scaring you." Her voice was thick with emotion, and it was obvious she was trying hard to keep herself together. "Goodbye. Rest in peace."

The hellion was purified, and several orbs of light spun in the sky before disappearing from view. Edna then turned away, to head down the path to the altar by herself. I caught up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

We were out of view of the others, in another chamber. The altar wasn't far, maybe two or three chambers ahead of this one. Edna looked over to me, but her parasol blocked the view of her face. I knelt down and hugged her, knowing she probably wouldn't like it. But it felt right, at that moment, to let her know everything was okay.

Or maybe it was for myself, to let myself know that things were going to be okay.

I heard Edna's parasol clatter to the ground and she gripped me tight. Not pushing me away, but hugging back. Tightly, as if she needed to keep herself centered and I was the only way to do so. I held her for as long as she wanted me to, until I felt the gentle shove of her hands and broke away from her. She sniffed, wiping her face and picking up her parasol like nothing happened. I stood up and looked to where the altar was as the others came walking around the corner.

"...Thanks." Edna muttered, loud enough for only me to hear. She looked back at the others, though they couldn't really tell. Her parasol was open again, hiding her head from view. "Finally done talking? Let's get going."

_Ignorance is unforgivable. I finally understand. Even if it's a pain, I'll never take the easy way out again. Though it totally is a pain._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Melanie calling Rose her girlfriend is like your best friend saying "Hey, you can say I'm your lover to get people to stop fucking with you".
> 
> Edna crying was something that happened during writing and actually wasn't planned, but it works-- I think.

**Author's Note:**

> I tend to post when I've posted the fanfictions on my [tumblr](https://arcanisluna.tumblr.com), about minutes after I post chapters so if you're interested in updates feel free to follow me there!


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